Download the 2011 Resolutions Decisions.

A number of session presenters used Power Points.  The handouts for these presentations are available for download:

• BC Ferries Presentation
• Fortis BC Presentation
• Island Corridor Foundation
• Fisheries Panel Concurrent Workshop Session
• Vancouver Island-Coast Agricultural Outlook Project Concurrent Workshop Session
• Vancouver Island SPINE Wilderness & Multi-Use Trail Presentation
• Canada Food Inspection Agency & Centre for Plant Health Presentation
• Branding the Saanich Peninsula Presentation

Download the 2010 Endorsed Resolutions and Proposed Action Plan

A number of session presenters used Power Points.  The handouts for these presentations are available for download:

• Elections Task Force Update
• BC Hydro New Energy Technologies
• BC Ferries Update
• Municipal Insurance Association Claims Trends
• UBCM Resolutions Process Review Update
• HST and the Impact on Local Governments and Their Communities
• Carbon Neutral Local Government
• Comox Valley’s Agricultural Strategy and How It Was Implemented
• Conserving Natural Areas for Climate and Community Health

Download the UBCM discussion paper titled UBCM Resolutions Process: Discussion on Scope & Options This discussion paper was the basis of the Resolution Process Update Workshop.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities urge the Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation to provide adequate core funding to Treaty Advisory Committees and related organizations.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R2        PROVINCIAL HOUSING TRUST FUNDS - North Saanich

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities petition the Province to create Regional Housing Trust Funds from Property Transfer Tax revenues to provide subsidized, supportive and affordable housing for communities where affordable housing is not accessible for those with low incomes such as seniors, single parent families and people with disabilities;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the funds levied for this purpose be kept within the regions they are levied from and disbursement be contingent on financial or in-kind local contributions.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R3        FUNDING FOR VISITOR CENTRES – North Saanich

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities petition the Province to increase the level of funding for the improvement and operation of effective visitor centres.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R4        PUBLIC LIBRARY FUNDING - Nanaimo City

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities work with the British Columbia Library Trustees Association to lobby the provincial government to restore grants for public libraries to not less than 2009 levels;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the amount of grants be adjusted annually thereafter to not less than changes in the Consumer Price Index for British Columbia.

ON MOTION, as amended, was ENDORSED

R5        FUNDING FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIES – North Saanich

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities petition the Province to restore public library funding so that the ratio of provincial grants to municipal tax levies is restored to the ratio that existed in 1985.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R6 HERITAGE FUNDING – Victoria

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities urge the Province of British Columbia to renew its commitment to heritage conservation in the following manner:

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R7        BIKE LANE SWEEPING – Sunshine Coast RD

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities urge the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to amend road maintenance contracts to increase the frequency of bike lane and highway shoulder sweeping.

ON MOTION, as amended, was ENDORSED

R8        ORV LICENSING & SAFETY - Powell River RD

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the AVICC urge the Province of British Columbia to enact ATV licencing legislation as soon as possible in 2011.

ON MOTION, as amended, was ENDORSED

R9        GREYHOUND CANADA PROPOSED SERVICE REDUCTIONS Strathcona RD

[Sponsor withdrew resolution in advance of Convention.]

R10      VARYING TAX RATES - Lake Cowichan

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Province be lobbied to amend Section 197 of the Community Charter to allow municipalities to have the flexibility of levying separate tax rates for each of land and improvements for each property class.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R11      UNIVERSITY PROPERTY TAX PAYMENTS – Port Alberni

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that AVICC and the UBCM urge the Province to address the issue of university grants-in-lieu of taxes by amending section 27(2)(w) of the University Act to specify that a university must pay to a municipality a grant equal to general municipal taxes.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R12      DELINQUENT TAX ON CROWN LAND – Alert Bay

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Province of BC undertake to pay all delinquent property taxes owed by properties which are under crown lease tenures.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R13      BC HYDRO FAIR COMPENSATION – Nanaimo RD and Sunshine Coast RD

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the AVICC and the UBCM lobby the Province of British Columbia to explore the taxation of BC Hydro and implement a fair and equitable method of compensation to all local governments for the provision of local and regional services.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R14      HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION COSTS – North Saanich and Sidney

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities petition the Province to amend the Police Act such that the costs of homicide investigations are borne by the Province and not by the municipal taxpayers.

ON MOTION, as amended, was ENDORSED

R15      PACIFIC AQUACULTURE REGULATIONS – Strathcona RD

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Fisheries and Oceans Canada be requested to expand the current license templates for marine finfish, shellfish and freshwater aquaculture to include specific operational compliance standards that serve to mitigate the potential for negative impact of aquaculture operations on adjacent land uses;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Fisheries and Oceans Canada be requested to defer approval of new aquaculture operations pending written confirmation from local governments that such operations are in compliance with local government regulations;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Fisheries and Oceans Canada be requested to convene a meeting of British Columbia coastal communities, regional districts, local governments and First Nations to provide more clarity on the Pacific Aquaculture Regulations.”

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R16      AQUACULTURE AGREEMENT – AVICC Executive

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the AVICC request that the provincial and federal governments recognize the authorities and responsibilities of local governments with respect to aquaculture and immediately consult with them about the impact and implications of the new Aquaculture Agreement;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the provincial and federal governments recognize and respect local government bylaws (including zoning) in the siting, approval and operation of fish and shellfish farms.

ON MOTION, as amended, was ENDORSED

R17      CONSULTATION WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENT REGARDING RESOURCE MANAGEMENT – Alberni-Clayoquot RD

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities and the Coastal Community Network:

a)  develop a mechanism(s) that ensures meaningful consultation with Canada and British Columbia with respect to all sustainability policies and processes affecting life in the Pacific Coast Watershed;

b)  establish an appropriate platform for community-to-community relations between the urban/rural local governments and First Nations at an appropriate regional level across the Pacific Coast Watershed.

ON MOTION, as amended, was ENDORSED

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities work with the Coastal Community Network to provide a one stop resource management assessment and referral delivery authority co-chaired by elected leaders drawn from local government and First Nations leadership resident on the coast.

ON MOTION, as amended, was ENDORSED

R18 DFO REFERRAL TIMES – Alert Bay

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans adopt a policy committing the Department to provide a response to referrals within 30 days of receipt of any development referral from a Local Government or First Nation Government;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that any referral which goes unanswered after 30 days of receipt be deemed to be approved.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R19      ANNUAL HALIBUT QUOTA – Capital Regional District

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the federal government purchase or lease the required commercial halibut quota to establish a permanent annual guaranteed base limit and season for recreational fishermen of 1 halibut per day 2 in their possession, February 1 to December 31 of each year.

ON MOTION, was NOT ENDORSED

R20      GLASS SPONGE REEF PROTECTION – Sunshine Coast RD

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities urge Fisheries and Oceans Canada to also designate the glass sponge reefs in the Southern Strait of Georgia (specifically McCall Bank, Howe Sound, Fraser Ridge, Active Pass, Nanaimo, Coulee Bank and Parksville) as “areas of interest” for protection.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R21      ILLEGAL DUMPING – Sunshine Coast RD

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Ministry of Environment be requested to make additional financial and human resources available to assist with enforcement, monitoring and clean up of illegal dump sites on Crown land.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R22      CONTROL OF CANADA GEESE – Metchosin

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that AVICC and UBCM work with the provincial and federal governments to manage and control burgeoning populations of Canada geese which, left uncontrolled, present major and significant human health and safety, food production, environmental, recreational, water quality and other impacts; and that AVICC support continued provincial support for the multi-phased approach adopted by the Peninsula Agriculture Commission.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R23      BEE IMPORTATION – North Saanich

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities petition the Province to protect the health of island bee populations by restoring the former quarantine that has managed the importation of honey bees and prohibited the importation of used equipment and combs to Canada Food Inspection Agency standards from mainland North America to Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and the Gulf islands.

ON MOTION, as amended, was ENDORSED

R24      NATURAL AREA TAX EXEMPTION PROGRAM – Sunshine Coast RD

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development be requested to grant local governments the legislative authority to implement natural area protection tax exemption programs.

ON MOTION, as amended, was ENDORSED

R25      DEVELOPMENT OF A NATURE AND CLIMATE CONSERVATION STRATEGY – Tofino

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the AVICC recommend that the Province of British Columbia develop a science-based Nature and Climate Conservation Strategy, that would concurrently accomplish:

• allowing more species to survive and adapt to a changing climate;
• protecting the natural carbon stores in our primary and intact forests other ecosystems;
• protecting water and other vital ecosystem services that support both human well-being and a conservation-based economy; and
• supporting sustainable natural resource management that is based on prioritizing the needs of the ecosystems.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R26      ENDANGERED SPECIES & ECOSYSTEMS PROTECTION ACT – North Saanich

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities petition the Province to enact an effective Species and Ecosystem Protection Act to protect British Columbia’s biodiversity.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R27 FOOD SAFETY AT COMMUNITY EVENTS – Alert Bay

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the AVICC request that the Vancouver Island Health Authority develop reasonable policies that will allow the sale and provision of foods prepared in non-commercial kitchens and which are not cost prohibitive or otherwise prohibitively onerous to the average citizen.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R28 ELIMINATON OF MSP PREMIUMS FOR SENIORS – Victoria

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) support, in principle, the elimination of MSP premiums for all seniors in the Province of British Columbia;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the UBCM conduct a workshop on all of the factors involved in such a resolution.

ON MOTION, was NOT ENDORSED

R29      ELIMINATION OF MSP PREMIUMS FOR SENIORS – North Saanich

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities petition the Province to eliminate Medical Service Plan premiums for medical insurance in the province of British Columbia for all seniors;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities support the retirees of the Municipal Pension Plan by agreeing that upon the elimination of Medical Service Plan premiums that the present percentage of employers’ contributions previously used for MSP premiums, be used to assist in the payment of group health benefits.

ON MOTION, was NOT ENDORSED

R30 RESTORE FUNDING TO HOSPITALS – Sechelt

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the provincial government be urged to properly fund construction, resourcing, equipping and staffing of hospitals in this Province.

ON MOTION, as amended, was ENDORSED

R31 FOR-PROFIT CLINICS – Victoria

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) request that the Province of British Columbia;

1. Establish a moratorium on any further expansion of private, for-profit surgical and MRI/CT clinics;
2. Require an end to public funding of for-profit clinics, including the contracting-out of day surgeries and the provision of Health Authority contracts to for-profit clinics;
3. Require full accountability and transparency on the part of for-profit clinics by ensuring that they submit to all oversight and regulatory mechanisms currently applied to public facilities operating under the B.C. Hospital Act; and
4. Expand public capacity by requiring the development of publicly funded and administered outpatient facilities;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that UBCM continue to research and monitor the threat to universal public health care posed by the operations of private, for-profit surgical and MRI/CT facilities in its member communities.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R32      TAX ON SELECTED PROCESSED FOODS – Tofino

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the provincial government impose a tax no less than 10% on processed food that contains levels of sugar, sugar substitutes, salt, or fats, that exceed the nutritional allowance contained in Health Canada’s guidelines and that these monies be used to help offset the medical costs associated with obesity.

ON MOTION, was NOT ENDORSED

R33 AGE RESTRICTIONS ON INDOOR TANNING – Esquimalt

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM lobby the provincial government to introduce legislation to ban indoor tanning for youth under the age of 18.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

R34      LOWERING THE VOTING AGE – Tofino

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that AVICC and UBCM urge the provincial government to lower the voting age to sixteen years.

ON MOTION, was NOT ENDORSED

R35      ALLOW VOTERS MORE CHOICE – Tofino

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that AVICC and UBCM urge the Provincial government to allow for the NOTA clause on all ballots in a provincial and civic election.

ON MOTION, was NOT ENDORSED

R36      CHARITABLE STATUS OF CANADIAN ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS Port McNeill

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Federal Minister of Revenue be requested to review the “charitable” status of these organizations and if justified, cancel their “charitable” status.

ON MOTION, was NOT ENDORSED

R37 ANIMAL ABUSE – Victoria

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities request the Province of British Columbia to demonstrate its commitment to the welfare of animals in the province by:

1. providing appropriate funding to allow the BC SPCA to effectively prevent and respond to incidents of animal abuse; and
2. investigating whether increases to the maximum penalties under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act may assist in reducing incidents of animal abuse.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

LR1      FEDERAL LIBRARY FUNDING CONTRIBUTION – Cowichan Valley RD

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities petition the Federal Government to provide a grant in lieu of taxes on federal lands to the Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL), in recognition of use by persons living on federal lands located within the VIRL service area.

ON MOTION, Was NOT ADMITTED FOR DEBATE

LR2      AGRICULTURAL LAND COMMISSION – Metchosin

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Association of Vancouver Island Coast Communities express its concern about the ability of the Agricultural Land Commission to achieve its mandate, and that resources to the Agricultural Land Commission be increased such that it is able to effectively carry out its mandate of preserving agricultural land for agriculture.

ON MOTION, Was NOT ADMITTED FOR DEBATE

LR3 – ISLAND CORRIDOR FOUNDATION FEDERAL/PROVINCIAL FUNDING APPLICATION

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that AVICC petition the governments of Canada and British Columbia to approve the $15 million rail infrastructure application for capital works on the Victoria to Courtenay rail line submitted by the Island Corridor Foundation in October 2010 to ensure the future of Island rail transportation and restoration of VIA passenger rail service between Victoria and Courtenay;

AND FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that an emergency meeting be arranged between the Island Rail Corridor Foundation and all appropriate and applicable parties including the Premier and Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure of BC to request their immediate assistance in coordinating this appeal with the Federal Government of Canada.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

LR4 – VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that if the current negotiations involving the labour dispute at Vancouver Island University results in a failure to resolve the situation, that the Premier of the Province of BC impose a cooling off period with the resumption of all classes at the university, and further that a mutually agreed upon mediator or arbitrator be appointed by the Province.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED

LR5 – FORESTRY PRACTICES ON PRIVATE MANAGED FOREST LANDS

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities petition the Province of British Columbia to revise the Private Managed Forest Land Act and appurtenant regulations to improve forestry practices on private managed forest lands to a standard equivalent or better than Crown forest land regulations thereby better protecting community interests.

ON MOTION, was ENDORSED