Whereas many communities across British Columbia are directly dependent on natural resource industries like fishing, agriculture, forestry, mineral exploration and mining, and natural gas to provide significant economic opportunities through employment, taxation, and peripheral economic activity; And whereas each job in the natural resource sectors adds more to the provincial economy than any other sector; And whereas all levels of government must balance policy and legislation that impact resource-based industries with climate and sustainability goals; And whereas communities required to plan for their future growth, or decline, cannot do so without clear understanding of the economic impacts of provincial policy: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM lobby the provincial government to: - ensure that all significant land based, and natural resource related legislation includes a publicly available economic impacts brief to identify the likely impact on jobs and economic development; and - share an appropriate portion of revenue and benefits of development through funding unencumbered by project-specific granting streams to affected local governments to maintain and grow community infrastructure and services.
