Whereas British Columbia continues to face a prolonged toxic drug and overdose crisis that drives escalating emergency response demands and complex social impacts, with rural communities experiencing disproportionate strain due to limited local healthcare capacity and reduced access to treatment, mental health, and supportive services; And whereas rural host communities carrying regional hospitals and centralized health and social services bear significantly higher volumes of drugrelated incidents and associated municipal costs, including overtime, staffing pressures, emergency response, sanitation, hazardous waste management, and environmental remediation, despite smaller tax bases and limited capacity, creating inequitable burdens across rural British Columbia: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the Province of British Columbia establish a sustainable, provincewide funding model that offsets the disproportionate emergencyresponse, publicsafety, and sanitation costs borne by rural host communities responding to overdose and toxicdrugrelated impacts, ensuring these expenses are not borne solely by local taxpayers.
