Northwest communities finalize their resolutions for UBCM convention this month

Members of City Councils and Regional Districts from across the Northwest will be charting their course towards Victoria later this month, as the annual gathering of municipal leaders and provincial government officials gets underway September 26th in Victoria.

With the conference getting closer the final preparations from UBCM organizers are now in motion and last week they released the Book of Resolutions,  a 198 page document which outlines those talking points that communities across the province will be bringing to the convention for consideration at resolution sessions.

Northwest communities have sponsored a number of resolutions both at the Municipal and Regional District level, with Prince Rupert submitting one resolution for the conference.

Prince Rupert Council is offering up a shared resolution on a Poverty Reduction Strategy for BC, signing on with Powell River, Vancouver, Summerland, Surrey, Langley Township and Prince George to bring the resolution to the discussion phase.

Port Edward is bringing the theme of seeking full Federal funding for rail crossing upgrades to the UBCM discussion forum.

Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District is not listed as having provided for any resolutions for consideration at this years conference.

To the east Terrace will be seeking discussion on issues related to rural policing and on the topic of a creation of a new tax class for brownfield sites in the province.

Kitimat-Stikine will be seeking a review of the code of conduct for Conferences and Events as well as seeking support for the Northwest BC Resource Benefits Alliance.

Other communities along the Highway 16 corridor also have proposals for discussion at this years conference, tackling a range of topics of concern to their city councils.

The full review of Northwest initiatives can be found below, you can explore the background to each one of the discussion topics from the UBCM Book of Resolutions available here, an overview of each topic can be found on the pages listed below.

Prince Rupert  
Co-sponsor of the Poverty Reduction Strategy for BC (Item B47, pg 117)

Port Edward 
CN Railway Crossings (Item B11 pg 97)

Terrace  
Analysis of Rural Policing Requirements (Item B82 pg 144)
Taxation of Brownfields (Item B104, pg 159)

Kitimat-Stikine RD
Code of Conduct for Conferences and Events (B103 pg 158)
Support for the Northwest BC Resource Benefits Alliance (C25, pg 105)

Stewart
Obtaining land from province below Market Value (B41, pg 113)

Smithers 
Mandatory funding formula for RCMP Victim Services (B83, pg 145)

Bulkley-Nechako RD
Assistance from the Fire Commissioner of BC to implement BC Fire Service Minimum Training Standards: Structure Firefighters Competency and Training playbook (B4, pg 93)
Funding assistance for Landfill Guidelines (B27, pg 106)
Assistance from the Province for trained provincial Emergency Response teams to direct and respond to events under the Emergency Program Act (B56, pg 126)

Prince Rupert and Port Edward are also members of the North Central Local Government Association, that group has submitted three resolutions for convention week.
Adopt policies and practices that involve local government in Wildfire management (B6, pg 94)
Strategic Forest Resource Management (B89, pg 149)
Strengthen Local input on all major decisions about management and utilization of local forest resources (B32, pg 109)

As we have in past years, we offer up an archive of events related to the UBCM gathering, you can keep up to speed on convention week here.

It will provide updates on developments from the conference and links to stories and background pieces from the September 26 to 30th discussions in Victoria.

More notes on Prince Rupert City council issues can be found on our City Council Archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review