2026

Whereas the Province of British Columbia has indefinitely paused new intakes to the Community Housing Fund, a primary capital program supporting the delivery of non-market and below-market rental housing by local government, non-profit housing providers, housing co-operatives, First Nations, and Indigenous-led housing societies; And whereas the suspension of the Community Housing Fund has stranded affordable housing projects across British Columbia, including projects already in planning, pre-development, or application stages, leaving municipalities and non-profit housing partners with

Whereas the Province of British Columbia has indefinitely paused new intakes to the Community Housing Fund, the primary capital program supporting the delivery of non-market and below-market rental housing by municipalities, non-profit housing providers, housing cooperatives, First Nations, and Indigenous-led housing societies; And whereas this pause has stranded affordable housing projects across British Columbia, including projects already in planning, pre-development, or application stages, leaving municipalities and non-profit housing partners with sunk costs, delayed projects, and red

Whereas under the authority of the Housing Supply Act, the Province of British Columbia has imposed mandatory housing targets on local governments to accelerate housing delivery, including affordable below-market expectations; And whereas in Budget 2026, the Province indefinitely paused new intakes to the Community Housing Fund, its main capital program supporting nonmarket and affordable rental housing delivered by local governments and nonprofit housing providers, thereby stalling or cancelling projects and stranding pre-development investments; And whereas local governments rely on s

Whereas transparency and public engagement are fundamental responsibilities of local governments in British Columbia; And whereas small municipalities are expected to meet increasing expectations for communications, transparency, and public engagement with limited staff capacity and financial resources to adequately support these functions: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM advocate to the Province of British Columbia for dedicated funding to assist small local governments in meeting transparency, communications, and public engagement requirements.

Whereas many BC communities rely on resource industriesincluding forestry, aquaculture, mining, energy, and related sectorsas foundational drivers of employment, municipal revenues, essential services, and extensive downstream economic activity such as contractors, ports and transportation, suppliers, processing, Indigenousowned businesses, and small and mediumsized enterprises; And whereas prolonged regulatory delays, inconsistent provincial and federal policy direction, and poor intergovernmental coordination are undermining investment and accelerating closuresparticularly in forestry a

Whereas Section 9 of the Depreciation of Industrial and Electrical Power Generating Facility Improvements Regulation the Regulation significantly reduces municipal property tax revenues at a time when communities are already experiencing substantial job losses, and further impedes the ability of municipalities to build reserves for the reclamation of abandoned industrial sites that lack regulatory requirements for dedicated reclamation funds; And whereas the Regulation can create incentives for industrial proponents to shut down operations earlier resulting in premature job losses and redu

Whereas British Columbias existing property tax classifications under the Assessment Act do not include a specific class for largescale artificial intelligence AI compute centres, AI data centres, or Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining operations; And whereas these facilities impose unique demands on local governments that are not reflected in their current tax classification, including significant electrical infrastructure requirements, community planning impacts, emergency response considerations, lower employment levels relative to other industrial uses, and longterm landuse implications:

Whereas under the Assessment Act regulations for land values of designated port properties are assessed based on their 2007 valuation and increases in assessed land value are indexed to inflation, while other comparable industrial land assessments are market based; And whereas over time, these different methods of assessing comparable industrial land have resulted in an unequal distribution of the property tax burden both within the industrial property class and between property classes: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Province for purposes of tax fairness, that the method by w

Whereas the Minister of Finance establishes property tax classifications, and all forms of farm use are currently grouped under Class 9 without distinguishing between small-scale, light-impact farm operations and large-scale, intensive industrial farm operations; And whereas large-scale industrial farming typically places significantly greater demands on municipal infrastructure and services, yet is assessed and taxed at the same rate as small-scale farms with minimal impacts: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Minister of Finance to create farm-use property tax subclasses to diff

Whereas communities across the Province of British Columbia face severe housing shortages and challenges in providing affordable, attainable, and long-term housing, which is essential to community livability and well-being; And whereas short-term rental residential properties have reduced housing supply for long-term residents, which is supported by the current tax classification rules restricting split classification of residential properties even when operating a commercial business, creating a need for fair and practical taxation based on actual use: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM