2026

Whereas large-scale corporate consolidation and foreign ownership of farmland continue to take place and impacts the ability for local ownership, access to, and preservation of agricultural lands: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM advocate to the Provincial Government to, a provide an update on Provinces response to 2024 UBCM resolution EB71 on exploration of policies restricting foreign ownership of Agricultural Land Reserve ALR land in BC, and, b direct the Ministry of Agriculture and Food to review recommendations 27 and 28 from the Revitalizing the Agricultural Land Reserve and the Ag

Whereas the Province of British Columbia is predicting significant labour shortages in the coming years due to retirement and immigrants make up approximately 33 of the workforce in the healthcare, technology, entrepreneurship, and essential services sectors; And whereas due to funding cuts, immigrants who are already part of our communities are increasingly unable to access employment skills training, including credential recognition and language services which are needed to reach their full potential and support our communities fully: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM petition the Pro

Whereas persistent teacher shortages in rural, northern, and remote communities in British Columbia have resulted in increased reliance on Letters of Permission and have implications for community stability, workforce attraction, and population retention; And whereas local governments have an interest in education system stability where workforce shortages affect long-term community sustainability and regional economic resilience: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the Province of British Columbia to develop and implement a provincial strategy to address teacher workforce shortages a

Whereas tariffs and other international market challenges have created uncertainty across the forestry sector and duties and tariffs combine to exceed 45 on Canadian lumber entering the US market making our forest sector less competitive and endangering jobs; And whereas wildfire and other climate change related challenges are increasingly threatening the health and sustainability of Canadian forests: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urges the federal government to appoint a federal minister to actively support the Canadian forestry sector through resolving the softwood lumber dispute,

Whereas the provincial government incurs substantial expenses and carbon emissions on product distribution to its ministries and agencies due to the use of central stores and purchasing; And whereas with a variety of the products for these agencies and ministries could be sourced locally to support local businesses who have lost income due to provincial policy decisions which have changed the environment and reduced heavy industry dollars to local governments: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM call on the Province of British Columbia to amend its procurement policies and practices to all

Whereas Canada is facing a critical airline pilot shortage due to retirements, rising training costs, and insufficient public investment that have created critical gaps between workforce demand and supply; And whereas this national shortage in airline pilots is reducing service to regional and rural communities, increasing economic disruption, threatening aviation safety, and putting a growing strain on the national transportation system; And whereas excessive training costs and inadequate government funding have unnecessarily prevented qualified Canadians from becoming pilots: Therefore

Whereas our vast province has considerable distances between communities, rest stops are an important part of the transportation and tourism network as they provide spots for motorists, ranging from motorcycles to recreational vehicles to transport trucks, with an opportunity to rest, stretch, walk a pet or use a restroom; And whereas not all of these rest areas are accessible to larger vehicles because of space constraints, and not all of the rest rooms are accessible to all users: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request that the Province ensures that each rest stop has rest rooms th

Whereas post-secondary students currently pay full adult BC Ferries fares, despite facing significant cost-of-living pressures and limited incomes, and this creates affordability barriers to travel to co-op employment, internships, conferences, networking opportunities, and travelling home to visit family, particularly for students who must regularly travel between Vancouver Island and the mainland; And whereas indigenous students and students from rural communities are more likely to rely on ferry services, post-secondary students paying a full adult fare reinforces barriers to being able

Whereas triple net leases shift the responsibility for property taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs from property owners onto commercial tenants, creating financial instability and unpredictability for small and local businesses; And whereas municipalities rely on vibrant local businesses to support complete communities, economic resilience, and main street vitality, yet lack the legislative authority to regulate commercial leasing practices: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM call on the Province of BC to review and reform commercial leasing legislation, including the use of triple n

Whereas the province of British Columbia has passed, but not yet enacted, legislation that sees the PST expanded to currently exempted professional services, textiles and some telecommunications, that will: directly impede competitiveness of British Columbian businesses; will result in an increased cost of production for businesses and manufacturers; result in an increased cost of living for all British Columbians; And whereas this legislative change will cause excessive harm to small businesses, private practices, industrial producers, housing developers, municipalities and the textile in