Whereas many BC communities rely on resource industriesincluding forestry, aquaculture, mining, energy, and related sectorsas foundational drivers of employment, municipal revenues, essential services, and extensive downstream economic activity such as contractors, ports and transportation, suppliers, processing, Indigenousowned businesses, and small and mediumsized enterprises; And whereas prolonged regulatory delays, inconsistent provincial and federal policy direction, and poor intergovernmental coordination are undermining investment and accelerating closuresparticularly in forestry and aquaculturetriggering cascading downstream impacts including widespread job losses, business failures, reduced port and transportation activity, housing instability, population outmigration, weakened supply chains, increased costofliving pressures, and declining municipal revenues, placing many communities at or near a point of no return: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urgently call upon the Province of British Columbia and the Government of Canada to take immediate, coordinated action to restore certainty and predictability to the regulatory environment affecting resource industries by: - establishing clear, transparent, time bound decisionmaking processes for consultation regulatory requirements and permitting approvals; - reducing duplication and misalignment between provincial and federal regulatory requirements; - assessing cumulative and downstream economic impacts on employment, supply chains, Indigenous economic participation, and municipal finances before decisions are finalized; and - engaging local governments early when proposed changes may materially affect community stability, infrastructure, or longterm economic sustainability.
