2023

Whereas a single person with a disability receives 1,358per month in disability assistance from the provincial government; And whereas the cost of living has increased substantially making it very challenging for a person with a disability to make ends meet: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask that the provincial government review the current assistance rates and increase the assistance amount to no less than 1,800 per month for a single person and that the rate be reviewed annually to keep pace with cost of living increases.

Whereas Section 1257 of the Community Charter only exempts elected officials from disqualification due to absences of 60 consecutive days or 4 consecutive regular scheduled board or council meetings if the absence is due to illness or injury or is with the leave of the council or board, but does not consider diverse realities or lived-experiences such as providing caregiving or compassionate care for loved ones, or parental leave for new parents; And whereas it is recognized that the current language in the Community Charter and the Local Government Act do not protect leave rights for ele

Whereas the Province has adopted vacancy taxes on vacant residential properties as one tool to assure land speculation does not result in property standing fallow to the detriment of community livability and other goals; And whereas commercial property values are inflating province-wide, and increasingly face investment speculation resulting in similar underutilization of commercial property in many municipalities across British Columbia: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the Province of BC to provide local governments with an option to introduce a vacant property tax applicable to

Whereas the BC Government has been granted an exemption by Health Canada from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to decriminalize the possession of certain illegal drugs; And whereas an omission to the exceptions for this exemption could result in nuisance illicit drug use in public park spaces designed for and used by children and youth: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request that the BC Government request Health Canada add public spaces designed for and used by children and youth to the list of exceptions to the Controlled Drug and Substances Act exemption.

Whereas the primary deterrent from exceeding speed limits or violating other road safety regulations on municipal roads in British Columbia are fines administered under the Violation Ticket Administration and Fines Regulation; And whereas fixed rate fines are inequitable, disproportionately impacting people with lower incomes while applying lower deterrent value to people with higher incomes, creating a structural inequity in the application of justice: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM calls upon the provincial government to implement a means-tested traffic fine system, similar to Finla

Whereas Canadas infrastructure deficit is estimated to be as high as 570 billion with almost 60 of the deficit within local government jurisdictions; And whereas the costs to replace and repair local government infrastructure for critical services such as roads, arenas, bridges, drinking water and wastewater systems are estimated to be 141 billion, which is well beyond the financial capacity of local governments across the country due to limited revenue generation options, and all while costs for infrastructure renewal continue to escalate at an exponential rate: Therefore be it resolved

Whereas the Province of British Columbia specifies that there is one assessment class for all types of residential properties even though the assessed value of attached and detached residential properties change values at different rates and other jurisdictions, such as Ontario, allow different tax rates for attached and detached residential properties; And whereas in Langley City, a 4.94 property tax increase in 2018 resulted in a 0.4 decrease for detached residential properties and a 14.31 increase for attached residential property, and in 2022, a 4.35 property tax increase resulted in a

Whereas systemic inequities are present in all municipalities and prevent all citizens from fully participating in civic life, but numerous municipalities across British Columbia and Canada have made progress towards becoming more equitable by committing to embed equity in all government action through the use of analytical processes for the assessment of systemic inequities e.g.

Whereas the BC Food Security Task Force recommended in 2019 that the Province allocate up to a quarter of a percent 0.25 of the ALR be made available for agri-industrial activities and establish a commissioner for agri-industrial lands; And whereas creating a dedicated area for agri-industrial activity will give businesses in food and agritech a strategic opportunity to support the modernization of agriculture and enhance food security; And whereas local governments are unable to consider pilot projects that align with this concept: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM work with the Prov

Whereas the Province has designated municipalities as diking authorities and established a wide range of authoritative powers over them including requirements to fully administer and resource ongoing dike maintenance, flood protection planning, monitoring, inspection, as well as to substantively fund disaster prevention and relief initiatives; And whereas the Province of BC completed a Preliminary Strategic Climate Risk Assessment for BC in 2019 that found that extreme weather events will continue to worsen across the province in coming years including heat waves and severe river flooding