Whereas the Provinces bilateral agreement with the federal government, the CanadaBritish Columbia Agreement to Work Together to Improve Health Care for Canadians signed October 2023, commits more than 3.8 billion over three years 20232026 to expand access to primary care, improve mental health and addictions services, reduce surgical backlogs, and modernize health data systems, and includes major health system transformationssuch as new staffing models, digital tools and culturally safe serviceswithout consistent local government consultation or engagement; And whereas local governments increasingly bear the consequences of limited access to health services, including increased burdens on police, bylaw enforcement, housing supports, and emergency services: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the Province of British Columbia to work transparently and collaboratively with local governments in implementing its 20232026 Health Action Plan, and to ensure early and meaningful engagement with local governments in future bilateral health funding agreements, to align provincial health system changes with local infrastructure capacity, service delivery, and community priorities.
Ministry of Health Thank you for your resolution requesting the Province work transparently and collaboratively with local governments in implementing its 2023-2026 Health Action Plan. The Province of British Columbia values its strong and longstanding partnership with UBCM and local governments and recognizes the critical role municipalities and regional districts play in supporting the delivery of health services and the well-being of communities. Local governments are key partners in shaping the conditions that enable effective health care, through housing, transportation, infrastructure, and community services, and their perspectives are essential as health system changes are planned and implemented. British Columbia signed its Working Together to Improve Healthcare for Canadians Agreement Working Together Agreement with the federal government in October 2023, which included 1.2 billion over three years from 2023-2026. Eligible expenditures for the funding included data development and collection to support reporting; information technology and health information infrastructure; capital and operating funding; salaries and benefits; training, professional development; and information and communications material related to programs. Infrastructure capacity was not part of this funding agreement. The majority of British Columbias funding is being used to develop a new staffing model that will transform the way people are cared for by nurses as they will spend more time with patients. The funding will support 83 acute care sites around the province representing a combination of tertiary, community, and rural hospitals. This is part of the British Columbias strategic plan to alleviate health workforce shortages, as outlined in BCs Health Human Resource Strategy. The Strategy envisions a health system that puts people first fostering workforce satisfaction and innovation to ensure health services are accessible to everybody in British Columbia, now and into the future. British Columbias action plan for the Working Together Agreement will be ending March 31, 2026, and British Columbias Ministry of Health will be re-entering negotiations with Health Canada to renew the agreement for the remaining seven years of available federal funding as confirmed in the recent 2025 federal budget. Details are still to be determined, but it is anticipated that the majority will continue to focus on improving service delivery across the province. The Province remains committed to working transparently and collaboratively with local governments. This collaboration helps ensure that provincial health system investments and reforms are aligned with local capacity, service delivery realities, and community priorities, strengthening outcomes for people across British Columbia.