UBCM’s Executive is holding its 8th annual Advocacy Days virtually this year. Over the next two days, Executive members will meet with MLAs from all parties to raise awareness on UBCM’s priorities. The focus this year is on UNDRIP, local government finance, and the mental health and opioid crises. Read more

As part of this year’s Local Government Awareness Week, the proclamation has recognized the importance of asset management, in supporting local governments deliver community services, by proclaiming today as Asset Management Awareness Day. Read more

The deadline to submit resolutions directly to UBCM for consideration at Convention is Wednesday, June 30. Resolutions submitted directly must be endorsed by a Council, Board or First Nations’ Council and sent, along with available background information, to Jamee Justason, UBCM Resolutions & Policy Analyst. For more information on preparing your resolution visit our Resolutions Procedure page.

The Internet speed study project team has encouraged Indigenous and local governments who wish to participate in the study to complete the online questionnaire; and ask their residents, businesses, and other community stakeholders to do the CIRA Internet speed test. The deadline for submissions is May 28, 2021. Read more

The BC Economic Development Association (BCEDA) released a new Local Economic Recovery and Restart Toolkit as part of its Economic Disaster Recovery and Resiliency Program. The Toolkit provides a collection of resources designed to assist communities, organizations and individuals involved in economic recovery following an emergency such as the COVID-19, wildfires and floods.

The CMHC is launching Round 2 of the Housing Supply Challenge in June 2021. This round, Getting Started, will focus on creating implementable solutions to improve pre-development processes for affordable housing. Housing stakeholders including local governments are encouraged to participate. Shortlisted applicants will receive up to $75,000 in funding to prototype proposed solutions for their final submission.

The Province assumed full administration of the homeowner grant program for the 2021 property tax year. There are no changes to program eligibility requirements. All eligible homeowners can now claim their current year home owner grant by submitting their application to the Province. The Province has indicated that municipalities must not accept any home owner grant applications. Homeowners can apply or ask questions online or via phone at 1 888 355-2700.