View recent articles published in The Compass about Resolutions.
Resolutions Procedures
The main forum for UBCM policy-making is the annual resolutions cycle. It provides an opportunity for local governments of all sizes and from all areas of the province to express concerns, share their experiences and take a united position.
Members are urged to submit resolutions first to Area Associations for consideration. Resolutions endorsed at Area Association annual meetings are submitted automatically to UBCM for consideration and do not need to be re-submitted to UBCM by the sponsor.
Please contact your Area Association for resolution submission procedures at the regional level.
Both UBCM and its member local governments have observed that submitting resolutions first to Area Associations results in better quality resolutions overall. If absolutely necessary, however, local governments may submit council- or board-endorsed resolutions directly to UBCM prior to June 15, each year.
Details on submission of resolutions, including late resolutions, are included in the Procedures for Submitting Resolutions linked below.
Staff and elected officials are strongly encouraged to follow the writing guidelines set out by UBCM. A clear, concise resolution is easier to understand, and this increases the likelihood that the membership will grant it their endorsement. Further, clear resolutions will prompt more direct responses from the provincial or federal government, or relevant organization.
Writing Guidelines for Resolutions
Use the sample resolution for formatting guidelines.
Following the June 15 deadline, the Resolutions Committee meets to review, organize and make recommendations on all resolutions. Resolutions are organized into the following sections for in-person Conventions, as described below:
- EXTRAORDINARY RESOLUTIONS (ER) are resolutions sponsored by the UBCM Executive and are seeking membership approval to amend UBCM Bylaws or to ask the Province to amend the UBCM Act.
- SPECIAL RESOLUTIONS (SR) address priority issues of the membership and are typically sponsored by the UBCM Executive.
- ENDORSE BLOCK (EB) shall contain resolutions supporting existing policy. These are resolutions recommended to be endorsed or endorsed with proposed amendment by Resolutions Committee, sorted by subject. These resolutions include: resolutions endorsed previously; resolutions with proposed policy positions that align with UBCM policy; or resolutions with proposed policy positions that align with previously endorsed policy papers or documents.
- NOT ENDORSE BLOCK (NEB) shall contain resolutions that are contrary to existing policy. These are resolutions recommended to be not endorsed by Resolutions Committee, sorted by subject. These resolutions include: resolutions not endorsed previously; resolutions with proposed policy positions contrary with UBCM policy; o resolutions with proposed policy positions contrary with previously endorsed policy papers or documents.
- NO RECOMMENDATION (NR) shall contain resolutions that neither support nor contradict existing policy. These are resolutions recommended no recommendation by Resolutions Committee, sorted by subject. These resolutions include: resolutions not previously considered; resolutions with proposed policy positions that do not align with UBCM policy; or resolutions with proposed policy positions that do not align with previously endorsed policy papers or documents; or resolutions where there is no action required.
- REFERRED RESOLUTIONS (RR) shall be divided into four parts:
- Part 1 – Resolutions referred to other resolutions within the Resolutions Book
- Part 2 – Resolutions referred back to the sponsor for fine-tuning
- Part 3 – Resolutions referred to Area Associations due to their regional nature
- Part 4 - Resolutions referred to the UBCM Executive
Extraordinary Resolutions (ER) will be debated first, followed by Special Resolutions (SR).
Then the order of consideration is as follows: Endorse Block (EB) Resolutions, Not Endorse Block (NEB) Resolutions and No Recommendation (NR) Resolutions.
The resolutions in the Endorse Block and Not Endorse Block are considered as a consent agenda block. Any voting delegate may attempt to withdraw a resolution from a block to speak in opposition or propose an amendment.
Resolutions placed in Referred Resolutions (RR) are not admitted for debated at Convention.
Analysis of Late Resolutions—those received after June 15—is undertaken in the Resolutions Committee's "Report on Resolutions Received After the Deadline." This report may be considered after Section A has been debated, but not before the time printed in the Convention program. Historically, this report has been presented to the membership on the last day of Convention, at the beginning of the final policy session.