Whereas local governments are required to meet tight and firm deadlines for submissions to provincial and federal application-based grant programs; And whereas after submitting a grant application, local governments are left to wait indefinitely due to the absence of established timelines for grant adjudication and approvals, thereby affecting local governments ability to plan projects with certainty and financial accuracy: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM encourage the governments of British Columbia and Canada to establish and adhere to processing timelines and award decision dates for all application-based grant programs.
Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs The Province recognizes the need for local governments to be able to plan for infrastructure projects and that understanding the timeline for funding decisions can assist with budgeting and resource planning. Under recent funding programs, the ministry identified the future construction seasons that projects submitted to application intakes should target, with programs supporting medium term priorities. Through the assessment of applications, the Province needs to ensure that program criteria are met, risks are managed, and that projects meet federal as well as provincial criteria, through the application process. This must be balanced with the timeliness of decisions. The Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program has been the main application-based grant program since 2018. The very high volume of applications and two-phase review with due diligence by both program partners resulted in a longer approval process. Federal administration has increased as compared to past programs. While the Province has worked with federal staff to endeavour to make reviews as efficient as possible, project-specific considerations such as requirements for federal environmental assessment or consultation limits the ability to commit to timelines related to individual applications. The Province will continue to advocate for more streamlined requirements and processes for future federal-provincial programs.