2025

Whereas medical practice has been restricted to the province or territory in which the licence was granted as each province has its own regulatory body; And whereas British Columbia, has a shortage of medical professionals, contributing to long wait times, emergency room closures and difficulty accessing primary care: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urges the provincial government to hire more qualified medical professionals by providing immediate provisional licences for those trained in Canada.

Whereas ineffective public notice for planned or unplanned emergency room closures creates immediate life-and-death situations for BC citizens, especially in rural communities where the next emergency room may be hours away; And whereas Health Authorities are responsible for providing public notice for service disruptions, and health services are the responsibility of the Province, which already has access to the Alert Ready notification program that the Province identifies the criteria for using the service as: 1 there is a threat to human life; 2 the threat is immediate; and 3 there are

Whereas residents in rural areas face significant challenges in accessing timely and quality health care due to long travel distances, difficult terrain, and adverse weather conditions, further exacerbated by the lack of robust public transit options in rural areas; And whereas ensuring equitable access to health care requires strategic investments in transportation infrastructure, enhanced regional transit services, and collaboration between the provincial government, local health authorities, local governments, and community organizations to develop tailored solutions for rural communiti

Whereas the stresses faced by local elected officials are increasing due to a degradation in the tone of civil discourse; And whereas additional mental health supports for local elected officials would be beneficial beyond what is provided by Medical Services Plan and extended health plans: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM call upon the Province of British Columbia to implement initiatives that offer mental health supports tailored to the needs of local elected leaders in British Columbia.

Whereas the Union of BC Municipalities UBCM Convention is the main forum for BC local governments to take a united position on key issues through resolutions submitted at the annual Convention; And whereas these resolutions, if supported, are carried to other orders of government and other organizations involved in local affairs; And whereas voting on submitted resolutions at the Convention currently occurs during the last 3 days, creating time constraints for all items to be addressed and for all members to be in attendance: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM change the Convention agend

Whereas hiring firms to design common infrastructure buildings such as municipal halls, firehalls, water treatment plants and wastewater treatment plants requires substantial time, money, and resources; And whereas For Construction drawings represent substantial public investment and technical expertise; And whereas a centralized repository of these designs would allow local governments to efficiently reuse existing designs, thereby expediting infrastructure projects and saving public funds and resources: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request that the Province implement an infrastru

Whereas the Agricultural Land Commission ALC is no longer permitting vacation rentals on Agricultural Land Reserve ALR land; And whereas local governments may have an objective to support agriculture and the local economy through agritourism; And whereas allowing vacation rentals supports tourism and the local economy: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the Agricultural Land Commission to permit vacation rentals within the Agricultural Land Reserve and remove the existing requirement for a resident owner.

Whereas local governments recognize the importance of fostering respectful and constructive dialogue within the community; And whereas personal and defamatory attacks on local government leaders, including both senior staff and elected officials, undermine the integrity of the democratic process and create a hostile working environment; And whereas current legislative and legal frameworks, including those of WorkSafeBC and Workers Compensation Act, do not provide adequate protection against such attacks, thereby hindering the ability of local government leaders to carry out their duties e

Whereas serious crashes and other incidents, such as truck fires, involving commercial transport trucks continue to happen more frequently on BC highways in all weather conditions; And whereas crashes involving commercial transport trucks often result in serious injuries or death, and crashes often lead to lengthy highway closures that cause significant disruptions and detours for other commercial and non-commercial motorists; And whereas some commercial transport truck crashes may be attributed to unsafe driving actions or poor driver training, which puts all drivers at risk: Therefore

Whereas inland ferries provide historically critical infrastructure to the communities served, equivalent to roads, highways and bridges; And whereas inland ferry services are essential services whose costs are funded by a portion of the taxes on sales of gasoline and diesel: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Province to ensure that all inland ferries are entitled to the same legal status as roads, highways and bridges, that all remain toll-free, and that the regular schedule of each inland ferry whether on-demand or set schedule be deemed the minimum necessary to protect the hea