2025

Whereas the effects of climate change are increasing disaster intensity, duration, frequency, and scale of emergencies and regional districts do not have the ability to increase the capacity of personnel, finances, or resources to meet the demands within identified jurisdictional fire protection zones to manage the increasing number of local wildfire emergencies; And whereas the Province of British Columbia has outlined changes to the Cooperative Community Wildfire Response program with an unattainable expectation of the role expected of the regional district that includes the expectation

Whereas the Province has oversight through applications, permitting and leases for works in and around water, streams, wetlands and riparian areas; And whereas the timelines for the completion of these processes are now extended to the point of hardship for communities and property owners: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Province to commit additional resources to oversight processes for works in and around water, streams, wetlands and riparian areas, to reduce timelines and increase responsiveness to communities needs.

Whereas agricultural plastics, including net wrap and baler twine, typically end up in landfills or are burnt or buried on farms, resulting in decreased landfill capacity and environmental pollution; And whereas the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy in the Canada-Wide Action Plan for Extended Producer Responsibility has identified ICI packaging including agriculture plastics be a material to be considered in the future; And whereas the Ministry will engage with local government as staff work towards strengthening current programs, while prioritizing options for potential

Whereas the BC Building Code has incorporated the BC Energy Step code, which sets increasingly stringent energy efficiency and greenhouse gas GHG reduction requirements for new buildings and major renovations, effectively limiting the current uses and eliminating the future uses of natural gas as a fuel in areas of BC that use the BC Building Code; And whereas many local governments, including those with significant agricultural, industrial, and rural residential needs, require flexibility and ongoing energy investment to ensure affordable, reliable, and diverse energy options for resident

Whereas the provincial government is responsible for managing wildlife through its Conservation Service, with a reduction in the number of conservation officers in the field and the zone deployment model having a negative impact on the ability of the BC Conservation Officer Service to meet the needs of communities experiencing an increase in habituated wildlife population; And whereas the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service has not been able to adequately address public safety, focus on natural resource law enforcement, off road vehicle enforcement, illegal dumping, human wildlif

Whereas Canada Post Corporation is the primary postal operator in Canada; And whereas it has been reported that Canada Post unknowingly shipped controlled and illegal drug to and from individual residences and postal boxes; And whereas there is no oversight as to the age of the persons ordering the illegal substances throughout our province; And whereas British Columbias communities are experiencing devastation caused by illegal substance use among youth; And whereas the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor Generals office is responsible to advocate on behalf of the residents and you

Whereas the Province of BC faces the worsening effects of climate change, with wildland urban interface fires becoming more and more prevalent; And whereas many residents and properties impacted by wildfire are located adjacent to Crown lands; And whereas residents are encouraged to mitigate the threat of fire to their properties following FireSmart principles, Crown lands adjacent to private property are often not mitigated: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Province to commit to working with interested parties to develop a policy which would allow residents adjacent to Crown l

Whereas BC faces real threats to a sustainable water supply: droughts, flood and fire to name a few; And whereas increased water supply will be necessary to accommodate the housing growth that the BC Government is mandating, along with maintaining and growing the agricultural sector to feed this new population; And whereas UBCM is the voice of local governments: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM strike a water panel to advocate to the Provincial government on water issues pertaining to their local governments members.

Whereas wildfire seasons are worsening due to climate change and wind-driven wildfire embers are responsible for igniting structures in up to 90 of wildfire-related losses; And whereas home hardening and fire-resilient landscaping is a cost effective ways to mitigate a community against a wildfire disaster: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the provincial government to increase financial commitments for wildfire prevention in the Wildland-Urban Interface by providing funding to harden community infrastructure against wildfire threats, support the drafting and implementation of polici

Whereas the Province of BC spent 1.1 billion on fire management in 2023 and continues to spend millions on fire management annually, and understanding that detecting and responding to fires at their earliest stage saves lives, structures, forests, the environment and reduces the costly burden of wildfire control; And whereas early wildfire detection technology exists, is financially attainable and has been installed in some interface areas and successfully tested and used to detect fires: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Province of BC to undertake installation of early wildfire