It's time for local governments to gather together to hash out a path forward, hold the province to account, and have their say.
That's the idea anyway, as the Union of B.C. Municipalities' (UBCM) annual meeting kicks off on Monday (Sept. 22) in Victoria.
UBCM President Trish Mandewo, a councillor from Coquitlam, called this a "critical time" for B.C., with a struggling economy and growing provincial deficit requiring concrete plans for economic growth.
"Local governments are under tremendous pressure due to significant gaps in provincial services, whether it's for shelters, supportive housing, health care, addictions, recovery and treatment," Mandewo said. "As local governments, we cannot afford to do the province's work in these critical areas."
Mandewo's view is that to tackle these major issues, local governments and the province must work better together.
She gave several examples of recent breakdowns, such as the province's lack of meaningful consultation with local governments on updates to the Heritage Conservation Act.
While the province spent two years working with First Nations on potential changes to the act, local governments got a three-hour webinar.
"This legislation is too important for the government to just run through legislation without bringing British Columbians along," Mandewo said.
This trend continued in the spring legislative session with the passage of Bill 15, the Infrastructure Projects Act, which UBCM opposed. That bill is one of two the government passed in the spring to fast-track energy, resource, housing and infrastructure project approvals.
When local governments have been consulted on legislation that impacts them, Mandewo said, they are often forced to sign non-disclosure agreements.
"From a local government perspective, what we are saying is, why the secrecy?" Mandewo said.
Mandewo wants more say in provincial decision-making — and more financial support for municipalities to cope with the consequences of those decisions. This means more money for community services and local infrastructure.
The UBCM executive is planning a special resolution that calls for the province to coordinate a regional approach to homelessness by increasing funding and resources for supportive housing and shelter initiatives.
At last year's UBCM meetings, the provincial government made commitments to alter involuntary care rules to help stem street disorder. The provincial lead on that effort, Dr. Daniel Vigo, will address a conference workshop on Monday to detail progress.
Mandewo highlighted infrastructure needs because many communities, hers included, are struggling to pay for all the needed upgrades to things such as roads and sewers that need to be improved as more homes are built. The province's massive push to build more homes in recent years is beginning to strain municipalities as they try to pay for these upgrades.
"The province's goal of increasing housing supply through the multiple unit legislation cannot be achieved without a long-term infrastructure plan," Mandewo said.
Premier David Eby is well aware. He said on Thursday that he thinks municipal infrastructure is the top issue local governments in B.C. must deal with. He brought this up to officials in Ottawa to try to get federal dollars for the effort.
"When you're a local government official and you're facing glamorous issues like sewage management, water, electrical service, roads, sidewalks, it's hard to even think about things like parks and community centres, the vital things that make life living in communities," Eby said.
The UBCM meetings begin on Monday morning with a series of study sessions on key issues. Voting on resolutions will start on Wednesday and is expected to run for two days. Eby will speak on Friday at 11 a.m. to close the conference.
With roughly 270 resolutions on the agenda, Mandewo plans to bring a special resolution aimed at reducing this number. She wants local governments to bring only resolutions that have not already been brought in recent years, and ones that actually have an impact on local municipalities. She reckons this could cut the number in half.
"If I am to be successful with anything, it's to make sure that we define our process for resolutions and reduce the numbers," she said.
