Whereas recovery from COVID-19 will require international, federal, provincial, local and aboriginal governments to work collaboratively to address the devastating health, safety, social and economic impacts; And whereas UBCM serves as the collective voice and advocacy body for BC local governments, which are: - recognized as orders of government under s. 1 of the Community Charter; - continuing to incur significant revenue losses as a result of deferred property taxes, reduced tourism, lost transit fares, casinos revenues, as well as recreation and other user fees; and - closest to the citizens of BC and best able to determine the needs of their residents, small businesses and non-profit organizations: Therefore be it resolved that the Province work collaboratively with UBCM to identify the health, safety, social and economic challenges facing BC communities and provide corresponding financial support that will aid local governments in the Provinces overall COVID-19 recovery effort.
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Ministry of Finance COVID-19 continues to cause significant and unprecedented challenges to all orders of government and to First Nation communities across the country. The Province recognizes the unique impacts that the pandemic has had on sources of revenue upon which local governments rely in order to provide essential services to their residents and to maintain healthy and vibrant communities. Continued cooperation and collaboration between the Province and local governments will be critical to addressing the health, safety, social and economic challenges facing communities created by the pandemic. The Province has taken a number of steps to begin addressing these challenges. In the early stages of the pandemic, the Province responded with a suite of short-term financial measures to address cash flow needs of local governments. Then, on September 17, 2020, the Premier and the Minister of Finance announced BCs Economic Recovery Plan. The plan includes nearly 2 billion in joint FederalProvincial spending to support strong communities by investing over 400 million to revitalize community infrastructure and to ensure local governments can continue to provide essential services, providing 540 million in combined federalprovincial funding to BC communities as well as over 1 billion in provincial and federal investments for transit, TransLink and ferries. The 540 million in support for local governments has been divided into three funding streams, the largest of which, the Covid-19 Safe Restart Grants for Local Governments has already provided 425 million for local operations impacted by COVID-19. The direct grants to local governments will assist with things such as facility reopening and operating costs, emergency planning and response costs, bylaw enforcement and protective costs and services for vulnerable persons. The adjusted per-capita formula used to directly allocate the funding ensures that funding will support local governments of all sizes across BC. Additionally, programs have been launched for the 15 million for Development Services, to ensure development approval processes continue smoothly in the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the 100 million for Strengthening Communities so that local governments can better address the needs of vulnerable populations and community safety. Engagement and cooperation with local governments has been critical in developing and administering these funding streams. The Province has an ongoing commitment to consult with local governments, both formally and informally, on matters that specifically affect them. Consultation is enshrined as a legislative principle as part of the Province recognizing local governments as an order of government. The challenges presented by the pandemic have highlighted the importance of this principle. Cooperation among all orders of government has been critical in supporting local governments to date throughout the pandemic. The Province remains committed to the important principle of consultation and will continue to act on it appropriately as we continue our recovery efforts to help build a stronger, more resilient economy for everyone.