2023

Whereas climate change is worsening conditions, increasing daytime and nighttime temperatures and other vulnerabilities for low-income residents of multi-unit residential buildings; And whereas the current Strata Property Act permits Strata Councils to enact bylaws that permit or restrict the addition of mechanical cooling to an individual unit within a strata property, and therefore this restriction creates an unsafe interior environment in the case of heat domes and other high temperatures: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Province of BC to amend the Strata Property Act to al

Whereas eGaming revenue is increasing as a proportion of overall gaming revenue collected by the Province; And whereas eGaming revenue is not currently shared with municipalities, unlike casino revenues which are shared with host cities for the purpose of public benefits: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM call upon the Province of British Columbia to allocate a portion of BCLCs online revenues based on per capita or eGaming revenue earned from each municipal resident spend.

Whereas encouraging unoccupied residential properties to become available for long-term occupancy represents an opportunity to increase the availability of housing in our communities; And whereas the authority to adopt an Empty Homes Tax is not currently available to municipalities operating outside of the Vancouver Charter: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM call upon the Province of British Columbia to amend the Community Charter to enable municipalities to administer a specific property tax on unoccupied Class 1 Residential properties, with net revenues to be used by the municipality t

Whereas municipalities have been asked by the Province to support the development of new non-market housing developments; And whereas municipalities have adopted policies to encourage the inclusion of non-market housing owned and operated by a non-profit organization as part of market housing developments; And whereas non-profit organizations are being denied mortgage financing to acquire non-market dwelling units due to lack of title or lease while the building is under construction: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the provincial government to amend the Land Title Act to enab

Whereas the manner in which election work is undertaken has evolved and can vary based on the size of the local government, current issues, and voter concerns; And whereas processing nominations for local government general elections within a compressed period of nine days can be challenging for those local governments with large numbers of candidates choosing to run for office: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the provincial government to amend the Local Government Act to begin the nomination period for local government elections at least three weeks earlier than currently legi

Whereas there is no exemption under the Employment Standards Act for temporary municipal election workers hired to work on advance and general voting days; And whereas the provincial government has an exemption from Part 4 of the Employment Standards Act relating to hours of work and overtime, and is therefore not required to meet these legislative requirements for temporary election workers: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the provincial government to provide to local governments an exemption from Part 4 Hours of Work and Overtime of the Employment Standards Act, except Sectio

Whereas the high cost of land is one of the greatest barriers to non-market housing development in British Columbia; And whereas municipalities have been asked by the Province to support the development of new non-market housing developments, including by forgoing market value of their own lands to provide to not-for-profit organizations at a nominal rate and for extended periods of time to facilitate the development of affordable housing; And whereas municipalities view not-for-profit organizations as partners in non-market housing development, regardless of their registration status as

Whereas the Province of British Columbia amended the Agricultural Land Commission Act in 2018 under Bill 52; And whereas these changes included new prohibitions for dumping waste and other damaging substances on farmland, with significant penalties and new tools for enforcement: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the Province of British Columbia to follow through on these changes and invest more resources in prosecuting offenders who unlawfully deposit waste on agricultural lands.

Whereas the UBCM Working Group on Responsible Conduct has worked to support British Columbia local governments in addressing misconduct by elected officials and providing local governments with a set of fundamental principles which can be utilized to enact codes of conduct; And whereas smaller local governments in British Columbia do not have the financial resources to establish an independent and autonomous Ethics Commissioner to investigate and resolve allegations of misconduct; And whereas the current legislative framework available to small local governments in British Columbia rega

Whereas the provincial investments in the BC Ambulance Service have not kept pace with growth and inflation in BC municipalities; And whereas municipal fire and rescue services are often the first responders to calls for medical service causing elevated wear and tear on fire apparatus and are unable to leave the scene until an ambulance arrives thus putting the community fire protection services at risk: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the Province to consider funding the capital and operating costs of medic trucks in local governments to ensure that an adequate level of fire p