1999 UBCM News - MarchNews... · 2017-03-30 · 2 UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE UBCM...

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NEWS in this issue... UBCM NEWS is published by Union of British Columbia Municipalities 15 – 10551 Shellbridge Way Richmond, B.C. Canada V6X 2W9 (604) 270-8226 fax: (604) 270-9116 Number 186 March 1999 Union of British Columbia Municipalities ISSN 1198-7529 UBCM Page ....................... 2 Around the Province .......... 3 Area Associations .............. 4 Policy Updates ................ 5-6 UBCM Committees .......... 10 Justice & Protective Services ...................... 11-12 Environment Policy .......... 13 Financial Policy ................ 14 Aboriginal Update ....... 15-16 Courses and Resources .. 17 Member Services ............. 19 FEATURES Gaming Policy Review ....... 6 Cutback Recap ............... 7-8 Legislation Symposium ...... 9 Property Assessment Appeal .............................. 14 MFA ................................. 18 Civic Net ........................... 19 Street Wise ...................... 20 UBCM Celebrates the Early Renewal of 100% Membership Municipal Pension Plan Makes Huge Gains Unfunded Liability reduced by $761 Million UBCM’s 1999 Net¥Work¥Book Will Be Available Soon!! (See page 3 for more information and order form) Independent actuary to the Municipal Pension Plan, Jack Levi of Ekler Partners, said in delivering his report to the Municipal Pension Board on March 16th, “Huge gains have been made in the financial situation of the plan since the last valuation”. The Legislation requires that an actuarial valuation of the Municipal Pension Plan be conducted at least once every three years. Mr. Levy was presenting the valuation as of December 31, 1997. His comments were directed at a chronic problem of the Plan in recent times - the massive unfunded liability. In other words, the pension promises to employees didn’t have sufficient assets to back them up. However, employees and employers should be relieved to know that there has been a dramatic turna- round in the financial situation of the Municipal Pen- sion Plan. On all of the three following measures the un- funded liability has been reduced: Unfunded liability was $1.3 billion as of December 31, 1994 and reduced to $548 million as of December 31, 1997. This is a reduction of over $760 million in just three years. the Funded Ratio (Basic Account divided by total accrued liabilities) has increased from 84% to 96% since the last valuation and the ratio of the unfunded actuarial liability to covered payroll has decreased from 36% to 14% from 1994 to 1997 respectively. Jack Levi said about the next valuation, “If the market doesn’t crash we should see a surplus at the December 31, 2000 Valuation”. Two main contributors to the improvements in the plan are investment returns and actual salary increases that are lower than assumed in previous actuarial valuations. Inside Policy Summary UBCM members to be consulted on whether they want changes to the nomination/election process for small community and electoral area representative on the UBCM Executive. (page 2) School site acquisition update. (page 5) taxation of Band owned lands. (page 5) UBCM response to gaming policy white paper highlights need for local determination. (page 6) municipal support needed to address secondhand smoke. (pp 7) “policy shorts” comments on mixed use assessments; Home- owner Protection Office; airport capital financing; crown land policies for port devolution and the Rhodes Report on Ministry of Environment/Fisheries potentional reorganization.(page 9) UBCM-COFI protocol on notification of mill closures concluded. (page 10) local government to be consulted on liquor policy. (page 11) future of auxiliary policy uncertain. (page 11) federal government restores funding for RCMP. (page 12) contaminated sites legislation and regulations under review. (page 13) streamside directives now not expected until spring 2000 - but what happens in the interim. (page 13) exit from retail policy one of the unresolved issues in the beverage containers. (page 15) Parliament passes First Nations Land Management legislation despite concerns of local government. (page 15) Sechelt AIP provides opportunity for municipalities to veto future additions to “treaty settlement lands”. (page 15) update on Tri-partite talks on the effectiveness of the treaty process (page 15) fast tract treaties proposal (page 16) UBCM severs its relationship with Certified Professional pro- gram. (page 19) Poll Shows that a Majority of British Columbians Support The UBCM Position for Local Control Over Gaming Expansion The results of the most recent valuation continue and accelerate the financial performance since 1994. Legislation was amended in 1994 to allow diversifica- tion of investments which has been key, along with lower salary increases and reduced inflation, to the plans recent healthy financial performance. Looking over that time span, the leading indicators show: 1991 1994 1997 Unfunded Liability (billion) 1.4 1.3 .548 Funded Ratio 80% 84% 96% Unfunded Liability as % of covered payroll 49.6% 36% 14% Not included in the valuation is the Inflation Ad- justment Account which provides pension indexing if funds are available. The most recent Annual Report (1997) of the Municipal Pension Plan provides infor- mation on the balance in the Inflation Adjustment Account which stands now at $1.78 billion. The actuarial valuation is good news for both em- ployers and employees. For employers it offers the prospect of removing those troubling cautionary notes from financial statements regarding a potential un- funded and difficult to quantify financial liability. It also suggests that contribution rate increases are not immediately required to deal with this issue as the unfunded liability disappears. For employees it lifts any clouds they may have felt. For both employers and employees the improving financial condition pro- vides a better atmosphere to talk about the future. Continued on page 10 MarkTrend poll shows that a clear majority of British Columbians fa- vour local control over gaming expansion. A 60% support for local govern- ment support is a clear vin- dication that what we have been saying in our policy reports and telling the Pro- vincial Government is re- flective of the community views said Mayor John Les, Chair of the UBCM Gam- Minister Accepts UBCM Recommendation Minister responsible for Gaming, the Honourable Michael Farnworth issued a release on March 10th extending the deadline for comments/submissions on the white paper on gaming until April 15th. UBCM had requested an extension and this was ac- knowledged in the Minis- ter's release. For more information on UBCM gaming policy considerations please see page 6. ing Committee. The response to the questions: The Provincial Govern- ment recently proposed legislation that will allow it to override municipal by-laws that restrict casino expansion and slot ma- chines. Do you support or oppose this action by the Provincial Government? By a 60% to 26% margin, British Columbians oppose the Provin- cial Government’s recent legis- lation which allows it to override municipal by-laws that restrict casino expansion and slot ma- chines. British Columbians are fairly united in their opposition as a full majority of residents in all demographic groups express their disapproval of this legisla- tion. As one may expect, oppo- sition is particularly high among the province’s seniors, of whom 80% express opposition while just 12% lend their support. The survey was com- missioned by UBCM and was conducted between February 11-16, 1999. (The survey of 506 residents across the province is con- sidered accurate to within ±4.4% nineteen times out of twenty.) See page 6. The top priority of UBCM is reviewed in the over- view: “Cutback Review”, and articles on four topics: Legal Analysis Intergovernmental Transfers Report Updated Local Government Government Agrees to UBCM Request for Input on Liquor Policy Minister Joy MacPhail has announced that govern- ment will seek input on proposed new liquor policy. UBCM had objected to the development of new liquor policy without the involvement of local government, public and other parties such as police. Minister MacPhail said that government is prepared to accept the new policies subject to successful consultations with municipalities. Consultant Jo Surich will con- duct the review and details are being sent to all UBCM members (see page 11 for more details on the policy considerations). Rated Good Financial Managers Cumulative Impacts Also featured is the Minister of Municipal Af- fairs response to five ques- tions UBCM asked on funding issues. Cutback Recap - Feature Pages 7-8

Transcript of 1999 UBCM News - MarchNews... · 2017-03-30 · 2 UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE UBCM...

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NEWSin this issue...

UBCM NEWS is published byUnion of British Columbia Municipalities15 – 10551 Shellbridge Way Richmond, B.C.Canada V6X 2W9 (604) 270-8226 fax: (604) 270-9116

Number 186 March 1999

Union of British Columbia Municipalities

ISSN 1198-7529

UBCM Page ....................... 2Around the Province .......... 3Area Associations .............. 4Policy Updates ................ 5-6UBCM Committees .......... 10Justice & ProtectiveServices ...................... 11-12Environment Policy .......... 13Financial Policy ................ 14Aboriginal Update ....... 15-16Courses and Resources .. 17Member Services ............. 19

FEATURES

Gaming Policy Review ....... 6Cutback Recap ............... 7-8Legislation Symposium ...... 9Property AssessmentAppeal .............................. 14MFA ................................. 18Civic Net ........................... 19Street Wise ...................... 20

UBCM Celebrates the Early Renewalof 100% Membership

Municipal Pension PlanMakes Huge GainsUnfunded Liability reduced by $761 Million

UBCM’s 1999 Net¥Work¥Book Will Be Available Soon!!(See page 3 for more information and order form)

Independent actuary to the Municipal Pension Plan,Jack Levi of Ekler Partners, said in delivering hisreport to the Municipal Pension Board on March 16th,“Huge gains have been made in the financial situationof the plan since the last valuation”.

The Legislation requires that an actuarial valuationof the Municipal Pension Plan be conducted at leastonce every three years. Mr. Levy was presenting thevaluation as of December 31, 1997.

His comments were directed at a chronic problemof the Plan in recent times - the massive unfundedliability. In other words, the pension promises toemployees didn’t have sufficient assets to back themup.

However, employees and employers should berelieved to know that there has been a dramatic turna-round in the financial situation of the Municipal Pen-sion Plan.

On all of the three following measures the un-funded liability has been reduced:• Unfunded liability was $1.3 billion as of December 31, 1994 andreduced to $548 million as of December 31, 1997. This is areduction of over $760 million in just three years.• the Funded Ratio (Basic Account divided by total accruedliabilities) has increased from 84% to 96% since the last valuationand• the ratio of the unfunded actuarial liability to covered payroll hasdecreased from 36% to 14% from 1994 to 1997 respectively.

Jack Levi said about the next valuation, “If themarket doesn’t crash we should see a surplus at theDecember 31, 2000 Valuation”.

Two main contributors to the improvements in theplan are investment returns and actual salary increasesthat are lower than assumed in previous actuarialvaluations.

Inside Policy Summary

• UBCM members to be consulted on whether they want changesto the nomination/election process for small community andelectoral area representative on the UBCM Executive. (page 2)

• School site acquisition update. (page 5)• taxation of Band owned lands. (page 5)• UBCM response to gaming policy white paper highlights need

for local determination. (page 6)• municipal support needed to address secondhand smoke. (pp 7)• “policy shorts” comments on mixed use assessments; Home-

owner Protection Office; airport capital financing; crown landpolicies for port devolution and the Rhodes Report on Ministryof Environment/Fisheries potentional reorganization.(page 9)

• UBCM-COFI protocol on notification of mill closures concluded.(page 10)

• local government to be consulted on liquor policy. (page 11)• future of auxiliary policy uncertain. (page 11)• federal government restores funding for RCMP. (page 12)• contaminated sites legislation and regulations under review.

(page 13)• streamside directives now not expected until spring 2000 - but

what happens in the interim. (page 13)• exit from retail policy one of the unresolved issues in the

beverage containers. (page 15)• Parliament passes First Nations Land Management legislation

despite concerns of local government. (page 15)• Sechelt AIP provides opportunity for municipalities to veto future

additions to “treaty settlement lands”. (page 15)• update on Tri-partite talks on the effectiveness of the treaty

process (page 15)• fast tract treaties proposal (page 16)• UBCM severs its relationship with Certified Professional pro-

gram. (page 19)

Poll Shows that a Majority of BritishColumbians Support The UBCM Positionfor Local Control Over Gaming Expansion

The results of the most recent valuation continueand accelerate the financial performance since 1994.Legislation was amended in 1994 to allow diversifica-tion of investments which has been key, along withlower salary increases and reduced inflation, to theplans recent healthy financial performance. Lookingover that time span, the leading indicators show:

1991 1994 1997Unfunded Liability (billion) 1.4 1.3 .548Funded Ratio 80% 84% 96%Unfunded Liability as %of covered payroll 49.6% 36% 14%

Not included in the valuation is the Inflation Ad-justment Account which provides pension indexing iffunds are available. The most recent Annual Report(1997) of the Municipal Pension Plan provides infor-mation on the balance in the Inflation AdjustmentAccount which stands now at $1.78 billion.

The actuarial valuation is good news for both em-ployers and employees. For employers it offers theprospect of removing those troubling cautionary notesfrom financial statements regarding a potential un-funded and difficult to quantify financial liability. Italso suggests that contribution rate increases are notimmediately required to deal with this issue as theunfunded liability disappears. For employees it liftsany clouds they may have felt. For both employersand employees the improving financial condition pro-vides a better atmosphere to talk about the future.

Continued on page 10

MarkTrend poll showsthat a clear majorityof British Columbians fa-vour local control overgaming expansion. A 60%support for local govern-ment support is a clear vin-dication that what we havebeen saying in our policyreports and telling the Pro-vincial Government is re-flective of the communityviews said Mayor John Les,Chair of the UBCM Gam-

MinisterAccepts UBCMRecommendation

Minister responsible forGaming, the HonourableMichael Farnworth issueda release on March 10thextending the deadline forcomments/submissionson the white paper ongaming until April 15th.UBCM had requested anextension and this was ac-knowledged in the Minis-ter's release.

For more informationon UBCM gaming policyconsiderations please seepage 6.

ing Committee.The response to the

questions:The Provincial Govern-

ment recently proposedlegislation that will allowit to override municipalby-laws that restrict casinoexpansion and slot ma-chines. Do you support oroppose this action by theProvincial Government?By a 60% to 26% margin, BritishColumbians oppose the Provin-

cial Government’s recent legis-lation which allows it to overridemunicipal by-laws that restrictcasino expansion and slot ma-chines. British Columbians arefairly united in their oppositionas a full majority of residents inall demographic groups expresstheir disapproval of this legisla-tion. As one may expect, oppo-sition is particularly high amongthe province’s seniors, of whom80% express opposition whilejust 12% lend their support.

The survey was com-missioned by UBCM andwas conducted betweenFebruary 11-16, 1999. (Thesurvey of 506 residentsacross the province is con-sidered accurate to within±4.4% nineteen times outof twenty.) See page 6.

The top priority of UBCMis reviewed in the over-view: “Cutback Review”,and articles on four topics:• Legal Analysis• In tergovernmenta lTransfers Report Updated• Local Government

Government Agrees to UBCMRequest for Input on Liquor Policy

Minister Joy MacPhail has announced that govern-ment will seek input on proposed new liquor policy.UBCM had objected to the development of new liquorpolicy without the involvement of local government,public and other parties such as police. MinisterMacPhail said that government is prepared to acceptthe new policies subject to successful consultationswith municipalities. Consultant Jo Surich will con-duct the review and details are being sent to all UBCMmembers (see page 11 for more details on the policyconsiderations).

Rated Good FinancialManagers• Cumulative Impacts

Also featured is theMinister of Municipal Af-fairs response to five ques-tions UBCM asked onfunding issues.

Cutback Recap - Feature Pages 7-8

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2 UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

UBCMPage

Photo

Mayor John RantaPresident

Circulars List

UBCM Dues100% UBCM Membership Renewals

All of BC’s municipalities and regional districts re-newed their membership in the UBCM for the 20thconsecutive year. This is one of the earliest dates for100% membership renewal in several years. PresidentRanta indicated this reflects membership solidarityand a strong commitment to work together. Thank-you for your continued support.

1999 Member Visits

~ DECEMBER ~

1 Memo - President’s Mes-sage: '99 UBCM Member-shipMemo - Updated NetworkBook InformationMemo - Group Benefit As-sociation Plan UpdateMemo - 1999 UBCM Mem-bership DuesIn The House - Nisga’a FinalAgreement Ratification Leg-islation Introduced

3 Memo - UBCM Group Pur-chasing Program (Plannersand Calendars)

11 Memo - Auxiliary PolicingProgram

15 Memo - Forest Action Plan18 Media Release - Pre-Christ-

mas Message to MunicipalWorkers and Taxpayers

~ JANUARY ~

7 Memo - Policy/Procedure onMaking Proclamations

7 Memo - Transfer Cuts Re-sponse

8 Memo - Prov. Downloadingand Like Impacts

8 Memo - Future Directionsfor UBCM Surveys

8 Memo - Update on Legisla-tive Symposium

9 Memo - New FacsimileNumber for UBCM

15 Media Advisory - UBCM Re-sponds to Municipal GrantCuts

17 Memo - Aboriginal Update:Certainty and Finality in theNisga’a Final Agreement

18 Memo - Spring 1999 GroupInsurance Workshop Ad-vance Notice

20 Member Release - High-lights of UBCM ExecutiveMeeting Jan. 14-15, 1999

20 Memo - Consultation Guide21 Notice - Group Benefits

Workshop22 Memo - Permanent Home

for LMMA25 Memo - Elected Official Ap-

pointments to CommunityHealth Councils (CHC’s) andRegional Health Boards(RHB’s)

27 Notice - Group BenefitsWorkshop Registration Fo-rum

29 Memo - Update on Financeand Legislation

31 Memo - Contaminated Sites31 Media Release - UBCM

Calls Extraordinary Meetingto Protest Transfer Cuts

~ FEBRUARY ~

1 Notice - John Ranta appear-ing on Voice of the Prov-ince, Wed, February 3Notice - 1999 MunicipalGrants: Questions aboutFairness and Equity

3 Memo - Homeowner Pro-tection ProgramMemo - Cumulative Impactsof Provincial GovernmentDownloadingMemo - Group BenefitsWorkshop Survey

4 Media Release - ProvincialOffloading on to Communi-ties Approaches $1 BillionNotice - UBCM Inventory ofProvincial Downloading andCumulative Impacts

5 Gaming Update - Draft Gam-ing Act Released

8 Media Release - UBCMCongratulates Premier onNotice Provisions in SocialUnion Framework

12 Memo - MLA/Minister Con-tacts on CutbacksMedia Release - Municipali-ties Still at the Back of theFunding Transfer Bus

17 Memo - Meeting with thePremier

23 Media Release - Poll Re-sults show BritishColumbians Reject Provin-cial Government’sFiscal Management but RateMunicipal Governments asGood Fiscal Managers

~ MARCH ~

11 Memo - UBCM Submissionon Gaming White PaperMemo - Summary of Extraor-dinary MeetingMarkTrend Report - Munici-pal Funding Survey An Up-date of IntergovernmentalTransfers 1996 - 1999

12 Memo - Award for Best Lo-cal Government Web Site

15 UBCM Response to WhitePaper on Gaming

Executive Bylaw Changes Considered

Responding to concerns raised at theUBCM 1998 Con-

vention regarding thenomination process for the“village representative”,the Executive has author-ized a survey of members.The purpose is to deter-mine a direction from themembership regardingthe nomination electionsfor Small Community andElectoral Area Repre-sentative at the annualUBCM Convention. Theirwas concern among somesmall community repre-sentatives that their“nomination” of a smallcommunity representa-tive could be overruled bythe general convention.However, concerns wereexpressed about the roleSmall Talk and In the Di-rector's Chair sessions

play in determining thenominee to be put forwardto the full convention. Thesame concern could beraised with respect to theElectoral Area representa-tive. We will be sending asurvey to all UBCM mem-bers soliciting their pref-erences for nominatingand selecting Small Com-munity and Electoral Arearepresentatives. The re-sults are expected to bepresented to the Executiveat their April 22, 1999 Ex-ecutive meeting. Ifchanges in the nominat-ing and electing proce-dures are recommendedby the Executive, thesewill be presented by wayof proposed bylawamendments to the fullmembership at the 1999UBCM Convention inVancouver.

Deputy ExecutiveDirector AppointedJoe Stott has been appointed as UBCMDeputy Executive Director. He took up his dutieson February 1, 1999. In January 1999 the Execu-tive reviewed the staff structure and responsibili-ties and authorized the creation of this position.A thorough recruitment process was undertaken.

Mr. Stott has worked previously in Vancou-ver, Richmond, Langley Township and GreaterVancouver Regional District. Prior to his localgovernment career, Joe worked for CBC includ-ing a stint in Prince Rupert.

NCMA in Dawson CreekThe City of Dawson Creek is hosting the 44th AnnualNorth Central Municpal Association Convention onApril 29, 30 and May 1, 1999. Dawson Creek offered tohost this years convention late in December when itwas decided that the District of Mackenzie would beunable to be the 1999 hosts. The organizing committeehas confirmed the venue for the event will be theGeorge Dawson Inn. The Agenda is very full and anexciting Partner's Program has been confirmed.

On March 11 and 12, 1999a benefits workshop washeld at the Empire Land-mark in Vancouver for 60participants from all overB.C. The workshop wasvery well received by thelocal government staff thatattended the forum. Theagenda included speakersgiving presentations on a

variety topics includinggroup benefits design, un-derwriting and adminis-tration, disability manage-ment, pensions and busi-ness trends.

This was the first ben-efits workshop that was

As part of the UBCM workprogram, staff travel to ar-eas of the province annu-ally and meet with munici-pal and regional districtstaff. Topics discussed in-clude areas of concern withour membership, the Mem-ber Services Program andUBCM policy initiatives.

Each year visits areplanned with approxi-mately 25% of the mem-

bership outside the lowermainland. Last fall stafftravelled to the Squamish-Lillooet, Thompson andNorth Okanagan areas ofthe province. We haveplanned for 46 visits thisyear with 28 visits in thespring to the:• Northwest part of the province,• East and West Kootenays and• North Vancouver Island.

Local Government StaffAttend Benefit Forum

Continued on page 6

My friends, if you’re looking forexcitement, intrigue, innuendoand high drama, look no furtherthan B.C. provincial politics.While 74 MLA’s (1 speaker) hurlbarbs, cast threats, engage inbare-knuckled verbal sparingwithin the political arena we callthe Legislative Buildings, ap-proximately 1,000 local electedofficials, with their nose to thegrindstone, their shoulder to thewheel and their best foot forwardstruggle to meet the needs andserve the best interests of theirrespective constituents through-out this great province.

The first six months as yourPresident has indeed been chal-lenging - major issues arise withunrelenting regularity. The Po-lice Auxiliary, Home Owner Pro-tection, Gaming Policy, LiquorPolicy, Forest Action Plan andLocal Government Grants haveplayed significant roles in gar-nering our attention and havedemanded careful, consideredjudgment in crafting appropriateresponses.

The UBCM staff and yourentire Executive have earned myrespect and deserve your creditfor the monumental body of workthat has been undertaken to date.The Extraordinary Meeting onthe cutbacks to local governmenttransfers and the LegislativeSymposium have given yourExecutive clear directions to pur-sue. We are unwavering in ourdetermination to successfully ac-complish the mandate estab-lished by the member representa-tives. One of those directions is

to resurrect the Financing LocalGovernment report recommen-dations and see what can beaccomplished in the post-De-cember 18th transfer reductionenvironment.

We are facing a spring ses-sion of the Legislature that isfilled with uncertainty. We havemade a very strong case andthe public is behind us in oppos-ing the cuts.

Spring is also the time I willmeet many of you in your re-gions at your Area Associationmeetings. I am committed toattend all the meetings. I havealready participated in the AVIM,and look forward to my involve-ment at AKBM, OMMA, NCMAand LMMA.

We recently received our lastmembership renewal and onceagain can proudly claim to rep-resent 100% of local govern-ment in British Columbia.

Please don’t hesitate to con-tact us on any matter requiringour assistance. Have a greatspring season.

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UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999 3

Aroundthe Province

Urban Systems Ltd.3 C x 4"

(repeat Nov 98)

Given that it’s a local governmentelection year, our

theme is: Local Govern-ment – Your Voice, YourVote, Your Community. Forthose communities thatcarry out programming topromote local govern-ment awareness, a re-minder that the deadlinefor submitting nomina-tions for the annualawards program is May31, 1999. Kit materials,including nomination

Local GovernmentAwareness:End of May Deadline for Submissionsto UBCM

The Canadian HomeBuilders’ Association(CHBA) of BC will onceagain be offering a specialhousing award, alsoknown as a Georgie, in thecategory Excellence by Lo-cal Government in Coopera-tion/Leadership With Indus-try. This award is pre-sented to a local govern-ment that has shown thegreatest leadership in fos-tering cooperation be-

April Executive in Victoria

tween public and privateorganizations in address-ing housing issues.

Previous winners ofthis award include:• the City of Victoria inresponse to development in-dustry appeals, approved asix-month urban planninginitiative called the HarrisGreen Charrette;• the District ofChilliwack for its work withthe CHBA of Chilliwack and

forms, have been sent outrecently to all local gov-ernments.

We also remind youthat we will once again beasking for nominations forthe Best Local GovernmentInternet Web Site. The cri-teria will also be includedin the kits sent out andnotification sent specifi-cally to your informationsystems coordinators. Ifyour local government hasa web site to be proud of,then please tell us about it.

We also remind those thathave previously made sub-missions to try again. Thesites change so much everyyear and deserve a freshlook.

For those wishing to geta head start on planningtheir 1999 program, theinformation kit can befound on CivicNet at:h t t p : / /www.civicnet.gov.bc.ca/ubcm/awareness_99, orcall Harriet Permut atUBCM at (604) 270-8226.

Local Government andthe Georgie Awards

GOVERNMENT & MEMBERS NWB ORDER FORM

THE NET•WORK•BOOK IS COMING!!Yes! I want to order the updated 1999 Net•work•book

1 - 5 Net•work•book(s) @ $10.00 per copy

OR 6+ Net•work•book(s) @ $9.00 per copy

7% GST (R108150541)

7% PST

TOTAL

Please ship to:

Attention:

Address:

Purchase Order #:

PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS NWB ORDER FORM

THE NET•WORK•BOOK IS COMING!!

Yes! I want to order the updated 1999 Net•work•book_____ Net•work•book(s) @ $30.00 per copy

7% GST (R108150541)

7% PST

TOTAL

Please ship to:

Attention:

Address:

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RETURN ADDRESS: UBCM 15 - 10551 SHELLBRIDGE WAY RICHMOND, B.C. V6X 2W9

RETURN ADDRESS: UBCM 15 - 10551 SHELLBRIDGE WAY RICHMOND, B.C. V6X 2W9

District for implementationof the Modified ApprovalsProcess Program;• the City of Surrey forworking with industry inbringing to market an award-winning small lot subdivi-sion; and• the City of Vernon forits approach to providing aninnovative mixed use devel-opment.

There are many inno-vative programs being un-dertaken by local govern-ments around the prov-ince, both large and small,that deserve recognition.We encourage elected of-

ficials and staff to reflecton some of your programsand submit entries in thisyear’s Georgie Awards.More information aboutthe category, with entryforms and other informa-tion, will be sent to eachlocal government shortly.Entries are usually calledfor by mid-July.

For more information,please feel free to contactColleen Watts at the Ca-nadian Home Builders’Association of BC at (604)432-7112 or 1-800-933-6777or visit their web site atwww.chbabc.org.

The UBCM Executive willhold its April 22-23 meet-ing in Victoria in order tomaximize contacts withCabinet and MLA's whilethe legislature is in session.Plans include meetings be-tween Ministers andUBCM Committees andpresentations to govern-ment and opposition cau-cuses. The full Executivewill meet with the Ministerof Municipal Affairs.

A regular Executivemeeting is a busy timewith 8 to 10 committeemeetings before the regu-

lar full Executive Meeting.The April meeting will bepacked full - Minister ofAboriginal Affairs,Gordon Wilson, has al-ready agreed to attend tomeet the Aboriginal Af-fairs Committee and Min-ister Jenny Kwan is sched-uled to meet the full Ex-ecutive.

Following the patternset when the Executive waslast in Victoria (July 1996),they will host a get togetherfor all MLA’s plus meet-ings with Government andOpposition caucus.

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4 UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999

AreaAssociations

Barristers & Solicitors

Full Service Law Firm

Servicing the Interior of British Columbia

Municipal Law Contacts:

Brian D. Ross Frank R. Scordo

Main Office:248 Second Avenue AshcroftKamloops, B.C. 100 Mile House250-372-5542 Lillooet

LMMAgoes toWhistlerThe Lower Mainland Mu-nicipal Association has ex-panded its annual generalmeeting for 1999 to Thurs-day and Friday, May 13 &14 at the Whistler Conven-tion Centre. CouncillorMel Kositsky and the en-tire LMMA Executive ex-tend an invitation to allLMMA members to at-tend. The program willfeature many interestingtopics including DrugAwareness, Olympics2010 presentation, re-gional transportation(GVTA, Highways Im-provement) TACs andmore. The Annual Gen-eral Meeting will consideryour resolutions and electyour new LMMA Execu-tive. UBCM PresidentJohn Ranta will attend.The registration fee in-cludes all sessions, guestspeakers, daily coffee/juice, Thursday recep-tion/dinner, Friday con-tinental breakfast andlunch.

Thank-you for “Reg-istering Early” to helpensure the meeting is asuccess.

Reflecting upon the found-ing of AVIM in 1949, Presi-dent Crook noted thatthere were only 26 del-egates to the very first con-ference, in contrast to the240 who attended thisyear. Councillor Crookconcluded that the funda-mental reasons for com-ing together in the firstplace exist today. Munici-palities can achieve morewhen they work together,and stand together, on is-sues that affect the qualityof their communities. The1999 AVIM conventionwas held March 5ththrough 7th at the Com-monwealth Centre inSaanich.

In these days of eco-

nomic restructuring, itwas timely to have notedeconomist, Dr. RoslynKunin provide the key-note address. She notedthat ebbing economies re-sult in low levels of con-sumer confidence and pri-vate sector investment.

Beyond these two fun-damental components ofthe economy are two oth-ers — government spend-ing and exports. Dr. Kuninheld that the link to futureprosperity is tied to ex-ports, not of raw materi-als, but of value-addedgoods and services, be-cause the increasing debtload of the provincial gov-ernment does not allowenough flexibility for gov-

ernment investment.Three cabinet minis-

ters, one federal and twoprovincial, helped theAVIM delegates mark fiftyyears of municipal co-op-eration. Making his firstpublic appearance sincesuffering a broken leg in askiing accident, DavidAnderson, Minister ofFisheries and Oceans, toldAVIM delegates about thepolitical awareness of thesnow-boarder who col-lided with him on the skihill. “Oh golly... I knowyou! You’re my MLA. No,I mean my MP...”

Mr. Anderson went onto cite the success of thefederal government’s in-frastructure program. He

updated the delegates onthe latest developments inthe salmon fishing disputewith the US, and his in-volvement in the coastalcommunities revitaliza-tion underway under theauspices of the WesternEconomic Diversificationoffice.

The first cabinet minis-ter to appear at the 1999AVIM was Jenny Kwan,Minister of Municipal Af-fairs. Ms. Kwan reiteratedher government’s focus onhealth care and education,explaining that these pri-orities precluded continu-ation of unconditionalgrants to municipalities.The Minister noted thesuccess of the Februarylegislation forum, andwelcomed the ongoingparticipation of local gov-ernment in reforming theMunicipal Act.

The other cabinet min-ister to attend AVIM wasthe freshest face in theClark government cabinet,

Gordon Wilson. Mr.Wilson did double duty atthe conference by partici-pating in sessions that ad-dressed his dual portfo-lios — Aboriginal Affairsand BC Ferries. Mr.Wilson is no stranger tothe AVIM, having repre-sented the Sunshine CoastRegional District in yearspast.

On Sunday Mr. Wilsonparticipated in a panel onthe Sechelt Band agree-ment-in-principle. Afterthe mid-morning break, heswitched to his BC Ferrieshat to assure the AVIMthat he considers the ferrysystem to be part of theprovincial highways sys-tem. He challenged del-

AVIM Delegates gather in Saanich tocelebrate 50th anniversaryWhat difference does fifty years make? Well in the words of the Associa-tion of Vancouver Island Municipalities (AVIM) President John Crook,“...approaching the big Five-0 is a time for reflection.”

Continued on page 10

Photo

Mayor John Ranta learns the Royal wave from the expert duringthe entertainment at the 50th Anniversary AVIM Banquet.

â â

AreaAssociationCalendarAKBMApril 15-17Creston

OMMAMay 5-7Revelstoke

NCMAApr. 29 - May 1Dawson Creek

LMMAMay 13-14Whistler

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UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999 5

PolicyUpdates

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This case involves the in-terpretation of Section 36 ofthe Indian Act, which states:

“Where lands have beenset apart for the use and ben-efit of a Band and legal titlethereto is not vested in HerMajesty, this Act applies asthough the lands were a re-serve within the meaning ofthe Act.”

In 1994 and 1996, theboards of directors of twoMusqueam Band control-led corporations passedresolutions that the CelticShipyards lands be heldas Reserve lands of theMusqueam Indian Band,both generally and pursu-ant to Section 36 of theIndian Act. In 1995 repre-sentatives of theMusqueam Band ap-peared before the Court ofRevision and successfullyapplied, arguing Section36 of the Indian Act, thatthe Celtic Shipyards prop-erty should be removedfrom the City of Vancou-ver Assessment Roll andtransferred to theMusqueam Indian BandAssessment Roll. Appealswere filed by the Assessorfor Vancouver with theAssessment Appeal Boardfor the 1995 and 1997 Rolls.The Assessor forgot to filean appeal for the 1996 Roll.

The Union of BritishColumbia Municipalitiessuccessfully applied to the

Assessment Appeal Boardto be added to the appealsdue to the wide rangingimplications for munici-palities as Indian Bandscould unilaterally andwithout notice create In-dian Reserves.

Argument before boththe Assessment AppealBoard and Mr. JusticeHolmes focused on the ap-propriate interpretation tobe given to Section 36. TheBand argued that, on itsface, Section 36 permittedand empowered, the crea-tion of “special Reserves”by anyone and that therewas no need for the Fed-eral Crown to be involvedin the process. This argu-ment was rejected in fa-vour of the FederalCrown’s position that Sec-tion 36 requires some formof executive action on itspart. Otherwise, absurdconsequences would flow.It was accepted that In-dian Reserves create sub-stantial financial obliga-tions on the FederalCrown and evidence wasbefore both the Assess-ment Appeal Board andMr. Justice Holmes thatthere is a detailed Federalpolicy related to the addi-tion too and creation ofReserves, all of whichcould be circumvented ifSection 36 was interpretedthe way the Musqueam

Band was urging.Similar arguments were

made on behalf of UBCMregarding the absurd con-sequences for both the Pro-vincial and local govern-ments if Section 36 Reservescould be unilaterally cre-ated. The 1970 decision ofthe BC Court of Appeal inSurrey v. Peace Arch Enter-prises held that any provin-cial or municipal regula-tion related to use of landwas ultra vires. Broadlyread, that case almost com-pletely eliminates munici-pal control of activities onIndian Reserves. In addi-tion, there are the financialimplications of special re-serves: as there is no regis-ter for special reserves mu-nicipalities have no way ofknowing if there are anywithin their boundary,

making budgeting difficultif not possible.

Mr. Justice Holmes,like the Assessment Ap-peal Board, accepted thatthe Federal Crown mustbe involved in the crea-tion of special reserves.However, he also foundthat Section 36 of the In-dian Act could not applyto the particular lands inquestion because the Bandcontrolled companies hadgranted mortgages overthem. Section 29 of theIndian Act prohibits sei-zure of Reserve lands ifmortgage lands could bemade into special reserves,the security interest in theland would be eliminated.

Leave to appeal thiscase to the Court of Ap-peal was filed by theMusqueam Band and ar-guments regarding theleave application wereheard on February 17, 1999.The leave application wasopposed by the Assessor,the City of Vancouver andUBCM on the basis that itis not a suitable case for anAppeal for a number of rea-sons. Chief JusticeMcEachern granted leavebut no date has been set forthe hearing.

UBCM was grantedintervenor status in this casebecause of the importance toall local governments.

School Sites AcquisitionCharge UpdateContributed by Gary Paget, Ministry ofMunicipal Affairs

Musqueam Band Loses Celtic ShipyardsCase - Going to the Court of Appeal

Legislation enabling localgovernments to collectschool site acquisitioncharges on behalf of schooldistricts was passed at thelast session of the Legisla-ture. The Education Stat-utes Amendment Act, 1998received Royal Assent inAugust, 1998 but the leg-islation has not yet beenproclaimed. Currently,the Ministries of Educa-tion and Municipal Affairsare working on a packageof implementation meas-ures. First, Cabinet regu-lations are being devel-oped which, amongstother things, would:• bring the legislation intoforce;• provide guidance on the cal-culation of the charges;• prescribe categories of de-velopment which would be ex-empt from a charge; and• set parameters for adminis-tration fees that local governmentscan charge school districts foradministering the system.

Second, the ministriesare also developing a “bestpractices guide” modelledon the successful Develop-ment Cost Charges Best Prac-tices Guide. The new guide

On November 12, 1998 Reasons for Judgment were delivered by Mr.Justice Holmes of the British Columbia Supreme Court in MusqueamHoldings Ltd. and others v. Assessor of Area #09 - Vancouver and others(Vancouver Registry A983201). This was the appeal by way of StatedCase from the decision on the Assessment Appeal Board decision ofOctober 24, 1997 that certain properties, generally known as Celticshipyards, which are owned by corporations owned and controlled bythe Musqueam Indian Band, are properly on the City of Vancouver’sAssessment Roll and are taxable by the City of Vancouver.

is being designed to assistschool districts and localgovernments in imple-menting the new legisla-tion. The objective hasbeen to ease administra-tion of the new system bymaking it, to the maxi-mum extent possible, par-allel to current local gov-ernment developmentcost charge practices.

The proposed regula-tions and the “best prac-tices guide” will be re-viewed by the keystakeholders including theUBCM, Urban Develop-ment Institute, BC SchoolTrustees Association andschool district secretarytreasurers in a workshopthis spring.

Once reviewed bystakeholders, the regula-tions could be forwardedto Cabinet. Proclamationof the legislation, adoptionof the regulations, and is-suance of the guide couldtake place as early as thissummer. This wouldmean that the first schoolboard bylaws enabling thecollection of charges couldbe in place late this year.

Contributed by Geoff Thiele, Thompson & McConnell

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6 UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999

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Engineers & Planners

On Feb. 2, 1999 theMinister responsible for Gaming,

Michael Farnworth, re-leased the Report on Gam-ing Legislation and Regu-lation in British Colum-bia. The report includes39 recommendations andincludes a White Paper onGaming and a draft Gam-ing Control Act. If en-acted, this draft will pro-vide the direction andframework for gamingpolicy in BC. Originallythe Minister indicatedMarch 15 as the deadlinefor comments. Immedi-ately after the release ofthe White Paper, Commit-tee Chair, John Les wroteto the Minister indicatingthat just over one monthfor consultation was notadequate and pressed theMinister for at least twomonths. On March 10th,a press release was issuedstating that the deadlinewould be extended, “toallow further discussionon certain aspects of thedraft act.” In particular,Minister Farnworth statedthat he looked “forwardto meeting with the UBCMgaming committee.” TheCommittee is presentlypursuing a meeting datewith the Minister.

With respect to theUBCM response, the Gam-ing Committee has circu-lated a copy to every mem-ber for comment. The ex-tension will now providethe Committee with an

opportunity to fully con-sult with the members onthe UBCM position. Ourresponse highlights theseven key recommenda-tions in our Initial Sub-mission as well as otherissues that will have seri-ous implications for localgovernments. The follow-ing is a summary of theWhite Paper recommen-dations UBCM proposedin its draft be supportedor not supported:Support for:• the right for local govern-ments to approve of new fa-cilities (Rec. 32)• the continued role for theBC Gaming Commission tooversee charities (Rec. 11)• revenue sharing with lo-cal governments with gam-ing facilities (Rec. 34)• the role and responsibili-ties of the Gaming Audit In-vestigation Office (Rec. 18)• a guaranteed fundingmechanism that ensurescharities revenues (Rec. 13)• a special police andprosecutorial program to ad-dress illegal gaming (Rec. 29)Strong exception to:• the power and authoritythat has been vested in theMinister to:

- override local governmentbylaws;

- expand and relocate facili-ties without local governmentapproval; and

- determine the types ofgames without public consulta-tion (Rec. 32/36)• the lack of respect shownto local governments with

pre-existing facilities in re-gard to ability to determinethe level and type of gaming(Rec. 32/33)• the different revenuesharing formulas for com-munities (1/6 vs. 10%) (Rec.34)• the requirement for localgovernment endorsement ofa council resolution prior toreceiving gaming revenues,especially those opposed toexpansion (Rec. 34)• no reference to a consul-tation process prior tochanges in future gamingpolicy• changes to the charity li-censing model that may re-sult in some charities nolonger qualifying for fundsthereby turning to local gov-ernments for funding (Rec.15)• the lack of accountabilityon the lottery and casino cor-poration (Rec. 25)• no reference to an inde-pendent appeal process forgaming decisions• no reference to an inde-pendent body (watchdog)that can monitor and overseegaming activities• no requirement to under-take social and economic im-pact assessment studies• no requirement to in-crease funds to problem gam-bling programs as govern-ment revenues increase (Rec.30)• no requirement to con-sult with adjacent commu-nities that could be affectedby a facility location or relo-cation (Rec. 36)

The UBCM GamingCommittee will keepmembers apprised of anynew developments in thecoming weeks.

White Paper onGaming Released

At a recent “Council ofCouncils” meeting the is-sue of regulating workerand public exposure tosecondhand smoke wasdiscussed by a panel con-sisting of CouncillorLynne Kennedy, WCB of-ficials, Regional HealthBoard representatives andthe voluntary health agen-cies. The following keymessages were conveyedby the panel and are beingprovided to all GVRDmunicipal Councils foryour consideration andappropriate action:1. The WCB, Ministry ofHealth, Regional HealthAuthorities, UBCM andVoluntary Health Agen-cies (as the Clean Air Coa-lition) are working to-gether to implement theWCB workplace smokingprovisions as they effectthe hospitality sector andlong term residential caresector. This is intended toprovide a single windowapproach to implementa-tion of these provisionswhen they take full effecton January 1, 2000.2. Despite rumours andrepresentations to the con-trary, the WCB is not con-sidering a delay in theJanuary 1, 2000 effectivedate for their regulationsin the hospitality sector.Nor have they endorsedor accepted the “generalventilation” solution be-ing proposed by segmentsof the hospitality indus-try. Their response to the

industry has been that theventilation approach is ac-ceptable as an interim stepto meet the current WCBprovisions, which requireminimization of exposure,but falls short of provid-ing the protection re-quired for workers whenthe full provisions take ef-fect in 2000.3. The WCB has madethe scope and coverage oftheir regulations very clear- they are meant to protectworkers from exposure tosecondhand smoke. Thereis a distinct possibility that,under certain circum-stances, workers will beprotected while the gen-eral public is not. In theabsence of any foreseeablemovement on the part of theMinistry of Health to enactcompanion public exposureprotection at the provinciallevel, it is imperative that lo-cal by-laws are kept in forceand be enhanced whereverpossible. City Councils in theGVRD are urged to include,if not already there, a January1, 2000 (or sooner) effectivedate in their existing by-lawsto require all indoor publicplaces to be smoke-free. Ex-ceptions, such as sepa-rately ventilated smoke-break rooms where em-ployees need to enter andoutdoor patios, can be in-cluded at the discretion ofthe local council.4. The Clean Air Coali-tion, consisting of theHeart & Stroke Founda-

Municipal Support StillNeeded to AddressSecondhand Smoke

tion, Canadian Cancer So-ciety and BC Lung Asso-ciation, will be workingthrough Regional TobaccoCo-ordinators in thehealth regions to buildsupport for smoke-freepublic places andworkplaces. City Coun-cils should look to theseagencies to assist in build-ing grassroots support forthe good work you aredoing in protecting work-ers and the public fromexposure to secondhandsmoke and in providingequal access to those mem-bers of our communitieswho suffer from respira-tory disabilities exacer-bated by exposure tosecondhand smoke.(A release by CouncillorGeorge Puil, City of Vancou-ver, Chair of the Greater Van-couver Regional District).

put on by UBCM since thefirst participating munici-palities and regional dis-tricts signed up for theGroup Insurance Associa-tion Plan in 1983. Thereare currently approxi-mately 2,500 staff andelected officials of 110municipalities and re-gional districts that par-ticipate in the UBCM As-sociation Plan.

A review of the work-shop evaluations, basedon a 63% response rate,indicates that the overallprogram rating for theevent was 4.3 out of a pos-sible 5. A special thanks toall of the participatingmunicipalities and re-gional districts that con-tributed to the success ofthe workshop.

Benefit ForumContinued from page 2

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UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999 7

Staples McDannold &Stewart

3 C x 3.5"(repeat Nov 98)

CutbackRecap

During the February 24thExtraordinary Meeting onthe transfer reductions,UBCM President JohnRanta gave an overviewof activities since the Min-ister of Municipal Affairsmade the announcementon changes to transfer andother grant programs.This special newsletter re-port to the members pro-vides more details for thefull UBCM membershipon activities undertakenby the President and Ex-ecutive. At their Januarymeeting the Executive for-mulated the goals and ob-jectives of strategy to re-spond to the governmentsdecision. A series ofevents and project planswere developed in pursuitof the strategies objectives.Some of the main projectsare summarized in this

Cutback Reviewnewsletter section and in-cluded:• Inventory of ProvincialDownloading and CumulativeImpacts (see summary). Thisreport was released followingthe President’s appearance onVoice of the Province (Rogerscable program) and a meetingwith members of the LegislativePress Gallery. Copies were pro-vided to regional media andmembers.• A special circular “CutbackTalkback” was designed particu-larly for MLAs to bring to theirattention such themes as:

- What the Editorial pagesare saying....

- What the Headlines aresaying....

- What UBCM Members aresaying....

As well a mock tax no-tice was designed and dis-tributed to show howmunicipalities could en-

hance provincial govern-ment accountability.• An Update on Intergovern-mental Transfers since 1996 wasundertaken (see separate arti-cle). This was released prior tothe recent Federal budget.• a legal opinion was obtained.(see overview) It was reviewedwith those attending the Extraor-dinary Meeting.• a Municipal Funding Surveywas commissioned and the re-sults released just prior to theExtraordinary Meeting. (seesummary)

In addition, a numberof circulars were producedto help keep the membersinformed of activities upto and including the dis-appointing meeting withthe Premier and Ministeron February 17th. Mostrecently the directiongiven at the meeting werealso circulated. Thesewere:1. UBCM members aresaying Enough is Enough

- you are directing the Ex-ecutive not to give up onresisting the latestdownloading.

We can’t back-off fromcalling for the restorationof the grants - otherwisethe Provincial Govern-ment will just come backagain.2. We will continue tonegotiate on FinancingLocal Government.3. Local governmentmust continue to increasepublic awareness.4. Local government iscommitted to continue thelegislative reform process.5. Each and every localgovernment representa-tive must go home and de-velop plans to increasepublic awareness (e.g.through a tax notice state-ment).

In pursuant of item #2,the President will be meet-ing with the Minister be-fore the end of March.

Legal Analysis

A principal justification forthe major round of cuts tomunicipal transfers in No-vember, 1996 was the pro-vincial government beingforced to take that actionbecause its transfers hadbeen reduced. Then Fi-nance Minister AndrewPetter said at the time:

“To date, we’ve pro-tected municipalities fromthe hundreds and millionsof dollars in cuts that thefederal government haspassed on to us. It’s time tostart sharing the burden.”

In response, UBCMcommissioned Gary

Williams to undertake astudy on federal-provin-cial and provincial-localtransfers. He found at thattime that the provincialgovernment was not cor-rect in its statement thatlocal government hadbeen protected:

“The reduction in inter-governmental transfersstarted with the provincialgovernment reducing fund-ing to municipalities in 1982.Reductions in federal trans-fers to the province did notstart until 1988. In terms ofsignificance, over the 15years since 1981, the reduc-

tion in transfer payments hasbeen greater for municipali-ties than for the province ...The notion that municipali-ties were somehow protectedfrom federal transfer reduc-tions is not supported by theevidence.”

In January, 1999 UBCMasked to have the earlierreport updated. The up-date concluded:

“The federal governmentis increasing its contributionto the Province through theCanada Health and SocialTransfer program. TheCHST for fiscal year 1998/99 is expected to be $100

Local Governments Rated GoodFinancial Managers

A recent survey showed local governments as clearlyoutperforming the provincial government in theirrating as financial managers. 55% of those respondingfelt that local government was doing a good job ofmanaging their tax dollars compared to 14% for theprovincial government.

Continued on page 8

million greater than fiscal1997/98. The new federalbudget (anticipated in Feb-ruary) is expected to con-tinue that upward trend inthe CHST.”

As the report alluded,the federal budget has beentabled and did include asubstantial increase in fed-eral transfers to BC.

The recent experiencealso underscores a conclu-sion of a KPMG reportdone for UBCM in 1997.KPMG was asked to con-sider the costs of servicesprovided by local govern-ment to provincial govern-ment at no cost or littlecost against the backdropof provincial support to

local government. Theseinclude direct subsidieslike first responder emer-gency services and coststo service provinciallysupported facilities whereno taxes are paid. KPMGconcluded at the time:

“With the number of

provincial grants dimin-ishing, the net flow oftransfers appears again tofavour the province interms of benefits.”

Recent transfer reduc-tions suggest the imbal-ance has further tipped inthe province’s favour.

Did government contra-vene any legislation orother undertaking to localgovernment in making thedecision to reduce trans-fers or by eliminating theequalization program?That was the basic ques-tion posed by UBCM inseeking legal advice. Ref-erence was made to thenew notice and consulta-tion provisions of Bill 31,the Protocol of Recogni-tion, and the consultationrequirements under theLocal Government Grants

Act and the Sub-Agree-ment on Financing LocalGovernment. The find-ings noted in part that Bill31 applies just to the Mu-nicipal Act and not theGrants Act; that the Pro-tocol is a political accordand is not in the nature ofan “enforceable contract”;and that the changes madeto the Local GovernmentGrants Act in 1997 provideCabinet or the Ministerwide latitude to makechanges to the types andamounts of transfers.

Intergovernmental Transfers Report Updated

Transfers to provinces

Over the next five years, the provinces and territories will receive anadditional $11.5 billion specifically for health care. This increase will beallocated to the provinces and territories on an equal per capita basis.

99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 5 years

Total ($millions) 2,000 2,000 2,500 2,500 2,500 11,500

Amount each year percapita ($) 65 65 80 79 78

($millions)

British Columbia 268 270 341 344 347 1,570

Source: Finance Department printed in Vancouver Sun Feb 17, 1999

City Spaces

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8 UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999

If you’ve got questions,we’ve got the answers you’re looking forWe have been providing the public sector with audit opinions and accounting advice for well over 60years. But that’s not all. Increasingly, our clients are turning to us for related services as well, suchas management advice, feasibility studies, financial indicators reports, financial planning, informa-tion technology, and human resources planning. Our specialized skills, tailored for your needs, allowyou to use your resources — people, facilities, and money — as productively as possible.

For more information on how we can help your Municipality or Regional District, contact one of our11 offices in British Columbia, or one of our offices across Canada. We’ve got the answers.

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1. What is theFuture ForTransition?

Question: T r a n s i t i o nimplies they are moving tosome next step. Please con-firm who is affected, theamount of transition fund-ing individually received andthe prospects for 2000 andbeyond.

A breakdown of the1999 grant estimates forindividual municipalitiesis enclosed which includesthe estimated transitionassistance. We expect thatonly 15 municipalities willreceive transition assist-

ance, although this couldchange as we complete thefinal calculations based onthe actual 1999 database.The amount of transitionalassistance will be deter-mined each year as part ofthe provincial budgetprocess.

2. Fine Revenue

Question: What formuladid Treasury Board use todetermine the $13 million?Is it a formula that will seethe amount of revenue to mu-nicipalities grown in the fu-ture if overall fine revenuesgrow? How are fine revenuetransfers to be paid over to

municipalities during 1999?a. The amount of trafficfine revenue sharing thatcan be afforded this yearis $13.2 million and thisrepresents about 30% oflocal traffic enforcementcosts. The distribution ofthe total is based on amunicipality’s policingcosts as a percentage ofprovince-wide municipalpolice costs. The 1999 es-timates are based on 1997costs provided by the Min-istry of Attorney General.These costs are the mostrecent available.b. Non-traffic camera vio-lation ticket revenues havefluctuated. A decline wasevident from 1993/94 to1997/98. Revenues areexpected to stabilize in1998/99 and may increasein future years. As I notedin the December 18, 1998News Release, as trafficfine revenues increase, lo-cal government’s sharewill also increase.c. We need the latest po-licing cost data from theMinistry of Attorney Gen-

eral in order to make ourcalculations for the trafficfine revenue program. Weexpect to be able to make alump sum payment un-der this program to localgovernments by October31, 1999.

3. RegionalDistricts

Question: Can youplease provide additional de-tails of this aspect?As you are aware, untilthis year all regional dis-tricts received a flat an-nual grant of $110,000, re-gardless of size. For 1999,we have made the regionaldistrict grant system con-sistent with principles es-tablished for the smallcommunity protectionprogram. This will havethe following implicationsfor regional district finan-cial transfers:• The basic grant for the small-est regional districts (less than50,000 including municipal

populations) will increase to$120,000.• Regional districts withpopulations between 50,000 and100,000 will experience a mod-est reduction to $100,000.• The regional district basicgrant will be eliminated for re-gional districts with populationsgreater than 100,000.

I sent a letter to all re-gional district chairs andboards on December 18,1998 outlining thesechanges.

4. BC Rail

Question: What is thesignificance of a five yearcommitment?In the fifth year of the pro-gram, we will review theB.C. Rail payments-in-lieuin the context of the im-plementation of the Fi-nancing Local Govern-ment study and possiblechanges to the federal pro-gram of payments-in-lieu.

5. InfrastructureEligibility

Question: Can youplease provide additional in-

formation on what types ofprojects would qualify or howmunicipalities and regionaldistricts can determine eligi-bility?

A program guide andgrant application formswere sent to all munici-palities and regional dis-tricts in mid-January withcopies to the UBCM of-fice.

The main priority forthe program will be waterand sewer projects withapproximately $1.5 mil-lion directed to other in-frastructure projects ineach program year. Prior-ity will be given to projectsthat respond to health andenvironmental concerns,support distressed re-source communities and/or support regionalgrowth strategies.

The deadline for thefirst phase of applicationsis February 28, 1999. I in-tend to begin announcingapproved projects in April1999. Applications re-ceived after February 28,1999 will be given consid-eration for subsequentapprovals.

Minister Provides Clarificationon Funding Issues

The UBCM Executive asked the Ministerof Municipal Affairs five questions ofclarification. The following are the topics,questions and the responses.

CumulativeImpacts

The impact of this year’s$40 million in cuts has tobe put in context as justthe latest in a series ofdownloading onto localgovernment and property

The results also showthat the provincial govern-ment has underestimatedthe importance the publicplaces on local services.While healthcare does topthe list (4.7 out of 5), thenext highest rated servicesare policing and crime pre-vention (4.6), which arelocally funded services.

Tied for third are edu-cation (4.5) and emer-gency response services(4.5), closely followed byfire safety and prevention(4.4).

Other findings of inter-est were:• a majority of the public wereaware of the recent cuts to trans-fers, and of those, nearly 70%were opposed to what the gov-ernment has been doing.• 66% felt all provincial gov-ernment facilities and corpora-

tions should pay property taxeson same basis as other taxpay-ers.• 91% felt that the provincialgovernment should treat localgovernment the same way thefederal government is requiredto treat provinces and give atleast one year’s notice beforechanging the amount of moneyit provides to municipalities.

The MarkTrend re-search report was commis-sioned by UBCM and wasconducted during the pe-riod February 11-16, 1999.The survey of 506 resi-dents across the province

Financial Managers

Continued from page 7

taxpayers. UBCM set outwith the members’ assist-ance to document the im-pact of provincial govern-ment cuts on local financessince 1992. In February,UBCM published a cata-logue of items which fallin the categories of:• fiscal transfers reduced oreliminated;• increased costs due to pro-vincial actions or decisions;• increased costs due totransferred responsibilities;and• increased costs due to pro-vincial fees being imposed orincreased.

The total cost impacts,where they can be quanti-fied, are estimated as ap-proaching $800 million.Added to that are the coststhat can be easily docu-mented. UBCM predictedthat the total costs wouldapproach $1 billion by theend of the mandate of thisgovernment.

INDEX TO CUTBACK REVIEWCIRCULARS AND PUBLICATIONSThe Executive CutbackStrategy used a variety ofcommunication methods:• face to face meetings;• media conferences andinterviews;• making informationavailable on Civicnet; and• telephone calls,

but a mainstay remainswritten communication oranalysis. Here is an indexto some of the “products”in the series:

Media Releases

• Provincial Offloadingonto Communities Ap-proaches $1 billion.• Poll Results show Brit-ish Columbians reject pro-vincial government's fiscalmanagement but rate Mu-nicipal Government as good

fiscal managers.• UBCM CongratulatesPremier on Notice Provisionsin Social Union Framework.• Municipalities Still atBack of the Funding Bus.

Member Releases/Circulars

• Joint Council Decision(with copy of UBCM letterto Minister Kwan).• UBCM Calls Extraordi-nary Meeting to ProtestTransfer Cut.• Update on Finance andLegislation).• Cumulative Impacts ofProvincial GovernmentDownloading.• Result of Meeting withPremier.• Summary of Extraordi-nary Meeting (with attach-

ments).

Reports

• UBCM Inventory of Pro-vincial Downloading andCumulative Impacts.• An Update on Intergov-ernmental Transfers 1996-1999.• legal opinion: Local Gov-ernment Grants.• MarkTrend Research:Municipal Funding Survey.

MLA SpecificMaterials

• Mitigation Component of1999 Transfers.• MLA/Minister Contact

Continued on page 9

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UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999 9

MURDY & M CALLISTERBARRISTERS & SOLICITORS

31st Floor, Four Bentall Centre, 1055 Dunsmuir StreetP.O. Box 49059

Vancouver, B.C. V7X 1C4Fax: (604) 689-9029 Tel: (604) 689-5263

Since 1980 our firm has restricted its practice to acting for local government andproviding advice concerning municipal law to other clients.

Policy Shorts

UBCM says “Don’tchange AssessmentRules for Mixed UseProperties”

The Provincial Govern-ment appears to be underpressure from develop-ment interests to changethe rules on assessment ofmixed-use properties.There have been severalassessment appeal casesthat have upheld the cur-rent rules and now the in-dustry is making directappeals to the Premier’soffice. One meeting washeld recently by the Min-istry of Municipal Affairsto canvas views of a groupof invited parties. UBCMhas written to the DeputyMinister saying this is too

important and complex amatter just to have onehearing. If changes arebeing considered there hasto be a far more open andextensive process.

HomeownerProtectionLegislation JustWeeks Away FromThe Effective DateBut Still No Noticeto LocalGovernment

UBCM Executive has hada range of issues and con-cerns with the new HPOrequirements but timingof implementation has al-ways been a concern. Atthe time of production of

this newsletter there wasjust five weeks to go untilthe new legislation takeseffect.

Still there is no infor-mation in the field. Theyjust don’t seem to under-stand what our needs areto communicate and dis-tribute information. As alast ditch effort the Presi-dent will be raising thematter with the Ministerbefore the end of March.

Airport CommonFront To ReceiveCapital FinancingReport

A group of 18 UBCMmembers joined togetherin 1996 to form the Air-port Community Com-mon Front as a vehicle todeal jointly with federaldownloading of airports.

One of the outstanding is-sues to be looked at waslong term capital needs ofairports and how to fundthem. A report, long inthe works, has now beencompleted and will be dis-tributed to Common Frontmembers.

Crown Lands PolicyDirective on PortDevolution

While port communitieshave chosen to pursuetheir devolution processesindividually without thecommon front frameworkused by most airport com-munities, UBCM wasasked to coordinate andprovide comment on thedraft Crown Lands policydirective.

UBCM has just final-ized its most recent com-ments. We have expressedconcern that the provin-cial government, who in-dicated no interest in portdevolution, now expectsto profit by charging com-mercial rents on port fa-cilities. They were not re-ceiving revenue from theFederal Government butnow they feel the changein lessee provides them theopportunity to increasetheir revenues at the ex-pense of local taxpayers.

“Rhodes Report”

This is the "short hand"for a report that was re-cently received by govern-ment and recommendedmoving all fish, wildlife,habitat and conservationofficers from the Ministryof Environment, Landsand Parks to the Ministryof Fisheries. UBCM re-viewed the report and con-cluded that a critical analy-sis of the report could noteven sustain support forits recommendations.

Summary reports of theFebruary 24-25th Legisla-tive Symposium jointlysponsored by the Minis-try of Municipal Affairsand UBCM are in the proc-ess of being distributed toall UBCM members. Con-tributing their advice onproposals for reforms tothe Municipal Act were222 representatives of 117local governments. Gen-erally, the session receivedgood marks overall withthe delegates appreciatingthe small group discussionformat. MOA again sup-plied the small group re-corders and the summaryreporters.

Based on feedback atthe Symposium, work ismoving on draft legisla-tion through the WorkingGroup or other processes.Legislative scope for 1999continues forward to in-clude:¥ a limited set of elec-tions amendments.¥ a consolidation andbroad enabling authorityfor service powers.¥ aspects of financialplanning, reporting andtaxation authorities.¥ business licencing; and¥ open government.

What will we be able toaccomplish here in 1999hasn t been finalized butthe Ministry is still workingon legislation around openversus closed meetings.

Discussions on the ap-proach to regional districtlegislation have given riseto one possible approachthat is being considered.Under this approach,rather than wide rangingreview that might take anextensive period, the fo-cus would be on identify-ing a limited number oftop irritants and trying toget a solution to these in amore limited time.

Using the ReformedMunicipal Act(URMA)

Municipal Affairs has justfinalized as part of its as-sistance program for the1998 Municipal Actchanges an implementa-tion guide called Using theReformed Municipal Act.It can be accessed alongwith other Municipal ActReform materials throughtheir web site. Binders arealso made available toeach local government.

LegislativeSymposium

on Cutbacks.• Cutback Talkback: Whatthe Editorial pages are say-ing...• Cutback Talkback: Whatthe Headlines are saying...• Cutback Talkback: WhatUBCM Members are say-ing...• Tax Notice designed toenhance government ac-countability. Questionsabout Fairness and Equity.

Other

• GVRD Council of Coun-cils Meeting: UBCM Re-port on Cutbacks.• Consultation Guide.

Copies of the reportswere sent to all UBCMmembers. If you didn’treceive a copy and wouldlike to do so please com-plete the form beside andreturn to UBCM.

ORDER FORMCutback Review Publications

Name:

RD/Mun:

Please send me the following:

❏ UBCM Inventory of ProvincialDownloading and Cumulative Impacts.

❏ An Update on Intergovernmental Trans-fers 1996-1999.

❏ MarkTrend Research: Municipal Fund-ing Survey.

Fax to UBCM office (604) 270-9116

Continued from page 8

Cutback ReviewPublications

URMA is now available!

Bill 31 Implementation - Resource Manual

on the web: http://www.marh.gov.bc.ca/LGPOLICY/MAR/URMA

Hard copy: available from Crown Publications(250) 386-4636

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10 UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999

UBCMCommittees

Kerr Wood Leidal3c x 1 7.8"

(repeat Nov 98)

On December 2ndthe Premier andMinister of For-

ests met with a number ofcommunity leaders, in per-son and via conference call,to discuss the next steps inthe province’s Forest Ac-tion Plan. The first part ofthe Plan was announcedback in November 1998. Itintroduced a new pricingsystem making timberavailable to the value-added, independent woodmanufacturing and marketlogging sectors at fair mar-ket cost. It also revised thedeposit requirement forlarger, long-term sales andintroduced streamlinedprocesses to encouragesmall scale salvaging.

The second part of thePlan includes the follow-ing key elements:• changing government policiesto align them more closely withmarket realities including flex-ible utilization standards, adjust-ing burnt wood pricing, easierappraisal of right-of-way timber• streamlining administrative re-quirements including standard-ized planning templates, stream-lined cutting permits and road

Forest Action PlanContinues to Unfold

Legislation

In November of 1998 UBCM circulated to the member-ship an advisory on potential changes to the legislativeand governance structure of the MPP. It describedpotential legislation in three areas:

Consolidation and “streamlining”

The purpose of legislative reform in this case is to:• consolidate the four separate statutes of the four main pensionplans (Public Service, Colleges, Teachers and Municipal) into onestatute. The new statute would contain all the provisions commonto all pension plans but with separate parts as needed to describeunique features of each plan.• removing much of the detail now in legislation into regulation.

The first point seems fairly non-controversial.However, the move of items from legislation to regu-lation will need to be weighed carefully – on one hand,change to aspects of the plan now can be held upbecause of the time-frame of the legislative review anddrafting process; yet on the other hand, having detailsin legislation provides some people with a higherdegree of certainty that changes will not be madewithout due consideration.

Creating new administrative andinvestment entities

Concurrent with governance discussions outlined in thefollowing section, legislation drafting is underway to:• establish the Superannuation Commission as a more independ-ent body (e.g. government or crown corporation) reporting to a boardof directors rather than within the current government structure. Thiswould provide greater staffing and budgeting flexibility.• re-establish the Office of the Chief Investment Officer (whichhandles plan investments) as an independent entity to addressrecruitment and staff issues complicated within the current govern-ment recruitment structure.

Provision for Joint TrusteeshipArrangements

Some plans are interested in exploring legislation thatwill allow them to move to a form of joint trusteeshipwhere responsibility for the pension plan is sharedequally between trustees appointed by employer andemployees participating. Currently, all decisions aboutthe plan design and funding are made by governmentofficials – the Legislature, Cabinet, Minister or othersas the case may be. The Municipal Pension Board is anadvisory body.

The move to a trusteed plan would be a major step.At this time, it is not contemplated that plans in anunfunded liability position would see a change to theirgovernance structure (these are the Municipal andTeachers plans). As well, the large number of inde-pendent employers and range of unionized and non-affiliated employee groups in the Municipal Planpresents a major challenge to trustee governance.

Currently enabling legislation is being drafted tocontain the ability to negotiate a Joint TrusteeshipAgreement for the MPP to replace provincial govern-ment as the sole sponsor.

Discussions are continuing and legislation is stillexpected this spring.

egates to help him achievebetter service and greateroperating efficiencies.

The Leader of the Op-position in the BC Legisla-ture, Gordon Campbell,also is no stranger toAVIM. He addressed thedelegates after their Sat-urday luncheon. In awarmly received speech,he pledged Opposition

AVIM - 50thAnniversary

Continued from page 4

support for municipalitiesin their current difficultieswith Victoria.

UBCM President,Mayor John Ranta, alsospoke to the AVIM con-vention. He updated del-egates on the UBCM ex-ecutive’s efforts to opposethe funding cuts from theprovince and urged mu-nicipalities to continueworking with the Minis-try of Municipal Affairs,despite the funding cutsissue. Unanimously, theAVIM Executive endorsedthe UBCM Executive’s ap-

permits, small scale salvage per-mits, new woodlot license regu-lations that move toward a moreresults-oriented Forest PracticesCode.• adjusting billing procedures forstumpage to provide for a monthlypayment option, temporary 90day extension on bills, phase outinterim billing, revised appraisaland billing procedures for timberremoved from rights-of-way.• implementing efficiency meas-ures that will recognize the dif-ferent needs and circumstancesof the company.

More recently, onMarch 1st the provinceannounced another ele-ment in the Forest ActionPlan that will dedicate$100 million to supportforest communities andprovide re-employmentservices to forest workersover the next two years.Specifically the announce-ment provides:• new transition and adjustmentassistance for forest communi-ties: FRBC is providing $30million over the next two yearsfor forest communities to restruc-ture and diversify after a majorforest job loss.

• re-employment assistance fordisplaced forest workers: FRBCwill provide $30 million over thenext 2 years to help newly dis-placed workers and another $40million will be dedicated to as-sist those workers already in theprogram.• three new community foresttenures will be announcedshortly as part of a pilot projectprogram.• new mill closure review proc-ess to ensure the flow of woodcontinues to other facilities inthe region when a mill is closed.• identifying new business op-portunities for displaced work-ers.

The Community & Re-sources Committee hasbeen supportive of theseactions and looks forwardto reviewing the prov-ince’s longer term plan torevive the forest industry.

UBCM - COFIProtocol onNotification of MillClosures

Over the past few monthsthe Community & Re-sources Committee hasbeen working with theCouncil of Forest Indus-

tries to develop a Protocolon the Notification of millclosures. This agreementis the first joint initiativebetween the two associa-tions since the MOU wassigned at the UBCM Con-vention last fall. The Pro-tocol directs that noticewill be provided by indus-try to the CEO (Mayor orChair) of affected munici-palities or regional dis-tricts, or other individualsspecified by the CEO, inadvance of any potentialplanned closure greaterthan six months. Industryhas also been asked tomake its best efforts to pro-vide notice to affectedmunicipalities or regionaldistrict of a planned lesserclosure. The Protocol rec-ognizes that confidential-ity undertakings may berequired between the twoparties, which could beprepared at any time, as afirst step. The agreementalso directs local govern-ment and industry to workwith the Jobs and TimberAccord Advocate to en-sure that the province hasan opportunity to do allthat it can do under theForest Action Plan to avoida closure if at all possible.

proach.Thirty-three resolu-

tions were considered bythe AVIM Executive con-vention, and only the oneurging a provincial salestax exemption for high-tech industries was not en-dorsed.

The annual election ofthe AVIM Executive re-sulted in the succession ofhost community MayorFrank Leonard as Presi-dent-elect. First Vice-president is ZeballosCouncillor Pearl Myhres,and Second Vice-presi-

dent is Regional Districtof Comox-Strathcona Di-rector Roxanna Mandryk.

Direc tors -a t - la rgeelected by ballot were;Sechelt Councillor StanDixon, Port Hardy MayorRuss Hellberg, and Victo-ria Councillor Bea Hol-land. In addition, RegionalDistrict of Nanaimo ChairGeorge Holme was ac-claimed as the ElectoralAreas Representative onthe AVIM Executive for1999-2000.

Port Hardy succeededin the bidding for the hostcommunity for the 2001AVIM conference. The2000 conference is slatedfor Tofino.

In addition to Vancou-ver Island municipalitiesand regional districts, theAVIM comprises commu-nities in the Powell River,Sunshine Coast, and Cen-tral Coast regional dis-tricts.

Municipal Pension PlanContinued from page 1

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UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999 11

Justice & ProtectiveServices

NationalCrimePreventionFundingIn 1998, the federal gov-ernment began imple-mentation of a new $32million dollar crime pre-vention program.

The new program pro-vides local government withnew resources to undertakecommunity based crimeprevention initiatives:• Community Mobilization -$50,000 per project;• Investment Fund - $1 millionper year for a maximum of 5years;• Partnership Program -$200,000 per project for a maxi-mum of 3 years.

In British Columbia, mu-nicipalities withpopulations greater than5,000 are obligated tomake arrangements forpolicing within their ju-risdiction. Twelve B.C.municipalities have cho-sen to operate their ownpolice forces. The remain-der contract with the Prov-ince to have the RCMP actas a municipal police unitwithin their jurisdiction.The Province, in turn, hasan agreement withCanada that the federalforce will act as the pro-vincial police force in theprovince. Those agree-ments provide thatCanada is responsible forthe management of polic-ing within each munici-pality in which the RCMPis contracted to work.

At common law, po-lice officers were viewedas exercising original min-isterial authority as pub-lic officers of the Crownand were not Crown serv-ants. They were person-ally liable for their owntorts, but their employerswere not vicariously li-able.

The B.C. Police Actmakes it clear that munici-palities are responsible forthe torts of their munici-pal police force officersand that individual policeofficers are not liable un-less they have been guiltyof dishonesty, gross negli-gence, or malicious orwillful misconduct.

Until recently, thequestion of legal respon-sibility for the torts ofRCMP officers remainedwhat Madam JusticeSouthin, of our Court ofAppeal, had described asa “rather murky aspect ofconstitutional law”. In arecent case, Rosario v.Gladney and The City ofRichmond, Mr. JusticeRalph of the SupremeCourt of British Columbiaclarified the murkiness ofthis area of the law. Heheld that municipalitiesare not liable for RCMPofficers.

Rosario had been bittenby a police dog under thecontrol of his handler, Con-stable Gladney. He suedthe constable and the cityin which he worked. Onbehalf of the City of Rich-mond, we brought on anapplication for summaryjudgment. Mr. JusticeRalph carefully reviewedthe common law, the ma-trix of statutes which applyto policing in the province,and the agreements in placebetween Richmond and theProvince, and the Provinceof Canada, and concludedthat:“The RCMP constables serv-ing in a municipal police unitremain provincial constables.They do not become munici-pal constables by either theprovisions of the Police Actor the Municipal Police UnitAgreement made between theprovince and the municipal-ity. A municipality is notvicariously liable for consta-bles who are not municipalconstables”

He went on to dismissthe claim against Rich-mond.

As this case was notappealed, the law is nowsettled. Municipalitieswhich contract with theprovince to have theRCMP police their juris-diction are not vicariouslyliable for the torts of RCMPofficers in their jurisdic-tion. Plaintiffs must lookto the individual officerand the Attorney Generalfor legal responsibility.

MUNICIPALITIES NOTRESPONSIBLE FORTORTS OF RCMP OFFICERSPrepared byDavid Butcher, Singleton Urquhart Scott

GARY WILLIAMS and ASSOCIATES

Comprehensive Development Service ContractPlans Negotiation

Strategic Financial Plans Project Management

Tax Policy/Fiscal Policy Restructure Studies

Retreat Facilitator Interim Management

P.O. Box 786, Nelson B.C., V1L 5S9Phone: (250) 825-9586 Fax: (250) 825-9615

AuxiliaryPolicing - Willit Survive theChanges?

The Attorney General onApril 3, 1998, in consul-tation with the RCMPand the own force policechiefs, announced thatauxiliary/reserve policeofficers would no longerbe authorized to carryfirearms, until a reviewof the program had beencompleted and a decisionmade on the future roleof the auxiliary/reserveofficer.

The Ministry of AttorneyGeneral in October 1998released a report entitled“British Columbia Auxil-iary and Reserve Consta-ble Program Review”which outlined a numberof options and recommen-dations as to the futuredirection of auxiliary po-licing.

On December 2, 1998,the Attorney General an-nounced that he sup-ported Option #2 outlinedin the report entitled “Brit-ish Columbia Auxiliaryand Reserve ConstableProgram Review”.Under Option #2: “Themandate of the Auxiliaryand Reserve ConstableProgram should reflect aprimary role of participat-ing in community polic-ing and crime preventionduties on an unarmed ba-sis, with the option thatthe Commanding Officeror Chief Constable Pro-gram may authorize Aux-iliary and Reserve Consta-bles to accompany policeon general patrol on anarmed basis under the di-rect supervision of a po-lice officer. The Com-manding Officer or ChiefConstables may also iden-tify specific additionaltraining for Auxiliary andReserve Constables inpreparation to providingspecific additional assist-ance to police during timesof emergency.”

Option #2 allowed po-lice agencies to adopt atiered Auxiliary or Re-serve Constable program,subject to demonstratingto the Attorney Generalthat Auxiliary and ReserveConstables participatingin the armed tier:• will be subject to strictscreening and regular assess-ment for personal suitability aswell as the standards for recruit-ing, training and qualification asregular police officers; and• will have the required skills,knowledge and ability to per-

form armed functions, prior tobecoming operational.

The UBCM Executiveand the majority of mem-bers who commented onthe report supported Op-tion 2, as it allowed for theuse of armed auxiliary of-ficers when performinggeneral duties. A reviewof the duties performed byauxiliary/reserve consta-bles indicated that 58% ofthe volunteer services theyprovided was in generalduty policing.

The Assistant Commis-sioner of ‘E’ Division, asthe Commanding Officerof the RCMP, announcedon February 10, 1999 “thatRCMP Auxiliary Consta-bles in B.C. will not be au-thorized to carry fire-arms”. He indicated that“the decision not to au-thorize British Columbia’sAuxiliary Constables tocarry firearms was based,in part, upon a desire torealign the ProvincialAuxiliary Constable Pro-gram in keeping with theRCMP’s NationalAuxilairy Constable Pro-gram.”

The decision by theRCMP not to allow auxil-iary constables to carryfirearms and a decision bythe B.C. Federation of Po-lice Officers, (the unionrepresenting the own forcepolice officers), not towork with reserve policeofficers due to liability con-cerns, has meant that theauxiliary constable pro-gram is not fully opera-tional at the present time.The union is concernedthat regular police officerssupervising a reserve con-stable could be held liablefor the reserve officer'sactions. This issue is cur-rently part of union man-agement discussions.

A working group ofRCMP and own force po-lice officers has been es-tablished by the Ministryof Attorney General todevelop the operationalstandards under which anew auxiliary constableprogram will be expectedto operate. The adminis-trative issues in which lo-cal government would beexpected to participate inthe operation of this pro-gram, namely the training

The provincial gov-ernment, in response to a request

from the Business TaskForce, announced on No-vember 16, 1998 that it in-tended to undertake a re-view into liquor regula-tions and that recommen-dations would go to Cabi-net by the end of February1999.

The liquor review wasundertaken by Jo Surich, aconsultant, and covered abroad range of issues, suchas:• licensing of restaurants/waiting areas (so that theycan serve liquor without hav-ing to serve food);• licensing of billiard halls toserve liquor;• size of television screens inliquor establishments;• use of credit cards in liquorstores;• Sunday opening of liquorstores.

A meeting was organ-ized by the consultant onJanuary 22nd and 23rd todiscuss potential changesto liquor policy. Repre-sentatives from all of themajor industry associa-tions and industries in-volved in liquor were inattendance. Two UBCMrepresentatives attendedthe meeting: CouncillorLynne Kennedy, Chair ofthe Justice and ProtectiveServices Committee; KenVance, UBCM staff.

The meeting looked atways to reduce or elimi-nate problems that indus-try encounters with the liq-uor licensing system.

The meeting became, inpart, a ‘negotiating ses-sion’ among licencees overways they could agree to

expand their ability to in-crease liquor sales to thepublic. In the final analy-sis, it does not appear anyenduring ‘agreement’ wasreached between thelicencees on the expansionof liquor sales, particularlygiven a recent report fromthe Neighbourhood PubOwners’ Association op-posing the expansion ofliquor sales in restaurants.

The UBCM, in re-sponse to the meeting, sentout a notice to all local gov-ernments outlining thebasis on which it attendedthe meeting and its con-cerns about the process.

It stated:• UBCM sent two repre-sentatives to the meeting as

Liquor Policy - What Doesthe Future Hold?

Continued on page 12

Continued on page 12

Continued on page 12

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12 UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999

‘observers’, and not to nego-tiate the future role of localgovernment in the liquor li-censing process. We did notparticipate in the “negotia-tions” or concur with thefinal “agreement” amongthose in attendance;• a closed process that seem-ingly “negotiates” publicpolicy on the availability ofliquor between industry rep-resentatives is not acceptable.

UBCM recommendedto the provincial govern-ment that a discussion pa-per be developed on theproposed changes to liq-uor policy and that thepublic have an opportu-nity to fully review anddiscuss the new directions.

On March 19, 1999 Min-ister MacPhail announcedthat the new policy hadbeen accepted by Cabinetsubject to successful con-sultations with munici-palities. A package out-lining the new policy andlocal government involve-ment is to be distributed toall local government.

Under the proposednew approach to licens-ing local governmentwould review all majorliquor license applicationsfrom restaurants, hotels,neighbourhood pubs,cabarets in accordancewith a template providedby the Liquor Control andLicensing Branch (LCLB).

Liquor Policy

Under the CommunityMobilization Program ap-proximately $2 million ayear has been allocated toBritish Columbia directlyfor crime prevention foreach of the next five years.This money can be usedby local communities forspecific projects to addressyouth violence, drugproblems, prostitution,car theft, etc; to undertakea needs assessment in thecommunity; or for train-ing and skills develop-ment.

The funding may bedirected at new projectsor at existing projects inthe community, however,the money is not intendedto provide ongoing oper-ating costs for any of theprojects approved. A fed-eral/provincial Joint Man-agement Committee hasbeen established to reviewall proposals for fundingand to make recommen-dations to the federal gov-ernment who will makethe final decision.

The federal and pro-vincial governments haveidentified the following asthe priority areas for fund-ing under this program:¥ Youth¥ Children

CrimePrevention

¥ Women¥ Aboriginal

The federal/provincialJoint Management Com-mittee received a total of170 proposals for fundingunder the CommunityMobilization Program. Atotal of 68 proposals wereapproved for funding bythe federal governmentand approximately $2.3million was allocated toundertake crime preven-tion programs in BritishColumbia. The moneywill be used to fund• 20 youth orientedprojects• 13 aboriginal projects• 13 projects directed atchildren• 4 projects looking atwomen’s issues and• 13 broader communityprojects.

These projects are lo-cated around the province:• 10 projects in the north• 12 projects in the inte-rior• 6 projects in theKootenay area• 20 projects in the lowermainland and• 19 projects on Vancou-ver Island.

There will be tworounds of project fundingreviews undertaken by theJoint Management Com-mittee in 1999. The firstreview of proposals willtake place in April and thesecond in October.

Continued from page 11

costs, equipment and uni-form costs, and liabilitycosts have not yet beendetermined.

The RCMP has givenauxiliary constables untilApril 5, 1999 to sign-upfor the new program. It isnot clear how many exist-ing constables will con-

Auxiliary Policing

Continued from page 11

Continued from page 11

RCMP - FederalCutbacks RestoredThe federal government agreed in December 1998 topay the $10 million deficit the RCMP had accrued incontract-policing service costs in British Columbia.The decision means that the announced cutbacks inthe use of RCMP aircraft and marine vessels shouldbe restored .

The RCMP is currently experiencing a manpowershortage due to retirements, increased attrition andnormal leave, but this is seen as temporary until newrecruits come into the system. The federal govern-ment has provided the RCMP funding for the train-ing of new cadets at the Regina Training Academy.

The current manpower shortages have been fur-ther highlighted due to the elimination of the sur-plus in new recruits in 1998, which gave some de-tachments additional manpower and added flex-ibility in the allocation of policing resources. Inaddition, for the first time in a number of years theRCMP has allowed it's members promotions. Thishas left the appearance of a large number of vacan-cies in the "constable" position, although the numberof police officers in the detachment may not havechanged.

tinue to provide volunteerservice under the new con-ditions and how many willretire. Local government,if the program continuesto operate, will be ex-pected to pay much higheroperating and trainingcosts for far less service.

The UBCM has writtento the Attorney Generalrequesting his assistancein ensuring the survival ofthe auxiliary constableprogram.

UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA

Diploma in Local GovernmentManagement ProgramSchool of Public AdministrationUniversity of Victoria

This part-time 12-course program is designed for localgovernment employees (managers, administrators andfront-line staff). The program is available throughoutBritish Columbia via distance education. The Diplomaincludes the required courses for certification by theBoard of Examiners for the Senior, General andAdvanced Certificates.

Entrance requirements: normally two years of post-secondary education, plus work experience in the localgovernment sector.

Expand your local government knowledge!

Application Deadline Program EntryMay 31 September

October 15 JanuaryFebruary 15 May

Elected officials will find these courses ofparticular interest:

ADMN 315 Local Government in Canada:Administration and History

ADMN 423 Local Government inBritish Columbia

ADMN 445 Urban and Regional EconomicsADMN 446 Local Government Land Use PlanningADMN 447 Local Government Labour Relations

and Human Resource ManagementADMN 448 Local Government FinanceADMN 452 Local Government Law

Contact for course and program details:Heather Kirkham, Program ManagerPh. 250-721-8067 Fax: [email protected]://www.hsd.uvic.ca/PADM/padm.htm

Announcing the new . . .

It appears the LCLBmay override any recom-mendation made by localgovernment if they disa-gree with its assessmentof the public interest; the"principles of fairness anddue process" used to makethe decision or if there arepotential conflicts with theother criteria used by theLCLB in its decision-mak-ing process.

Expansion of LiquorSales in theStakeholder Agreement

The proposal makes somespecific recommendations onhow the proposed new regu-latory scheme would oper-ate. Of particular note are:• Number of licences wouldbe reduced to two for drink-ing establishments:"A" - Primary liquor service (hotels,cabarets, neighbourhood pubs);"B" - Primarily food service.• Hours of Operation -Eliminate hours of servicelimitation for hotel pubs,lounges and restaurants (2a.m. may be extended to 4a.m. with municipal ap-proval).• Seating Capacity - Cur-rently hotel pubs, lounges,neigbourhood pubs, marinepubs and cabarets have hadthe number of seats set by theprovince, but the proposalwould allow expansion to thebuilding occupancy limit.

UBCM analysis of thecomplete new policy will bedistributed to all members.

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UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999 13

Environment

George B. Cuff & Associates Ltd.MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS

58 Winchester AvenueSpruce Grove, Alberta T7X 1L8

GEORGE B. CUFF, CMC

Telephone (403) 960-3637Fax (403) 962-5899

EnvironmentalShorts

BeverageContainerManagement Board

The Minister of Envi-ronment, Lands andParks will be appoint-ing a new ten memberBoard to advise her onbeverage containerpolicy. The UBCM hasnominated CouncillorPat Wallace,(Kamloops) as theUBCM representativeon the Board.

Flood Planning andResponse Guide

The Ministry of Envi-ronment, Lands andParks is preparing aflood planning guideto assist local commu-nities in preparing forand improving theirflood response capa-bilities. The manualwill provide a usefulcompendium of infor-mation to assist bothdyking authorities andlocal governmentswith flood planning.

The new beverage con-tainer regulation has hada number of benefits forlocal government in themanagement of solidwastes. The regulation hasexpanded the number ofbeverage containers sub-ject to deposit (juice, wa-ter, Canadian Clear, beer,wine and liquor contain-ers, etc.) and assisted inthe development of amixed beverage containercollection system through-out the province (return-to-retail and depot).

The three stewardshipplans under the regula-tion: Liquor DistributionBranch; Brewer Distribu-tor Limited; and Encorphave shifted some of theeconomic costs of manag-ing beverage containersfrom local government/local taxpayer back to theindustry (closed the loopfrom consumer tobrandowner).

Unresolved Issues

There are still a number ofunresolved issues relatedto the development andimplementation of a bev-erage container policy.Industry is currently ex-amining the options forrecycling drinking boxes(tetra-pak etc.). Cabinetgranted the industry a oneyear exemption to developand implement a processto deal with aseptic bever-age containers.

The granting of a fullexemption from the proc-ess for "gable top: contain-ers (milk containers etc.)is still an issue with localgovernment and industryrepresentatives.

No solution has beendeveloped to deal with thediscounting to consumers,due to the fact that a depotoperator may only partici-pate in one of the steward-ship plans, and is unableto collect a handling feefor containers collectedunder one of the otherplans.

Exit-from-RetailPolicy

The UBCM is still havingdiscussions with the prov-ince and the industry overthe development of a pro-tocol to address the exit-from-retail policy. Theregulation currently pro-vides no framework forconsideration of the policychange: no process for im-plementing the policy; nostandard base of informa-tion on which to assess therequest; no process for ac-countability; and no proc-ess to exit from the policyif it does not work.

It has also highlighteda problem in the regula-tion regarding the defini-tion of the term ‘diversionrate’: What does diver-sion rate mean? Local gov-ernment commonly usesthe term ‘diversion rate’to refer to the number ofbeverage containers di-verted from the wastestream. In the regulation,the term ‘diversion rate’ isused to refer to the numberof beverage containers di-verted from retail outletsto depot operations. Thedifferent usage of the term‘diversion rate’ has createdproblems in discussionsaround the developmentof a exit-from-retail policy.

The introduction of anexit-from-retail plan in aregion has a number posi-tive and negative implica-tions as outlined below:Positives:• eliminates the handling feefor beverage containers fromretail stores;• reduces the brandowner/Encorp costs of collectingcontainers;• provides a competitive ad-vantage for a depot based sys-tem over other alternativesat the local level.Negatives:• increases the cost to thoseretail stores which may wishto provide a return to retailoption for their customers;

New Beverage ContainerRegulation - What Is TheCurrent Status?

Continued on Page 20

The Ministry of Environment, Lands andParks is planning to

undertake a two stage re-view of the contaminatedsite regulation/legislationin 1999 with the assistanceof the Contaminated SitesImplementation Commit-tee. The intent of the re-view is to make the follow-ing types of changes to theregulation/legislation:• simplify and consolidate;• remove procedural issues;• enhance flexibility;• decrease processing time.

The first stage of the re-view will be to look at im-mediate changes that havehigh stakeholder supportand can be addressedthrough policies and pro-cedures or amendments tothe regulation (March 31,1999 target date).

The second stage of thereview is to look at thosechanges which may requirea more comprehensive re-view of the regulation and

possible amendments tothe legislation. The pro-posed schedule for thisreview is the following:• April 1999 - prepare re-view package and requestsubmissions• September 1999 - all sub-missions due• November 1999 - ministrycollates submissions; draftsamendment package• December to February2000 - Public consultationmeetings• March to June 2000 - Or-der-In-Council/Request forLegislation submission.

Responding to aUBCM survey, local gov-ernments focused on anumber of issues:• time delays in processingapplications;• need for better public in-formation on contaminatedsite issues;• role of local government inthe contaminated sites proc-ess - What is the role of localgovernment (i.e., ‘gate-

keeper’ of the process or‘document drop centre’)?;• administrative cost to lo-cal government of the regu-lation - cost recovery for re-viewing site profiles ($50does not cover costs);• impact of the contami-nated sites regulation on landuse decisions - city wide re-zoning; property taxationand abandoned sites.• liability of local govern-ment in the process - ‘jointand several liability’.

The Business Council ofBritish Columbia has com-pleted a major review ofthe contaminated site proc-ess. Industry has identi-fied the following issuesas areas of major concern -delays in processing/ap-proval; fees charged forreviews; need to allow forexpanded use of independ-ent remediation; inconsist-ent application/interpre-tation of regulations/leg-islation; development ofand access to supportingdocuments on ministryweb site; the exclusion ofmining operations fromthe regulation; and somespecific changes in thestandards to assess the ex-tent of contamination on asite.

Industry also identifieda number of issues whichdirectly involve local gov-ernment, namely contami-nated soil relocationagreements and other re-quirements that local gov-ernments may place oncontaminated sites beforethey are allowed to be de-veloped. A further issueidentified by the businesscommunity as a concernwas with the principles of“retroactive liability” and“joint and several liabil-ity”. Any changes in theseprovisions would alsohave a significant impacton local government.

The outcome of this re-view process is still unclear.There appear to be anumber of common con-cerns that both local gov-ernment and industry haveregarding the contami-nated sites process, such asdelays in processing appli-cations, inconsistent appli-cation/interpretation of theregulations, need for betterpublic information andproblems with the liabilityprovisions. All of these is-sues will need to be re-viewed as part of the re-view process that is to beundertaken.

Contaminated Sites -Review Process Underway

The Ministry of Environ-ment, Lands and Parkshas agreed to delay theimplementation of thestreamside directivesuntil March/April 2000.The plan is to undertakefurther consultation onthe development of thedirective; to undertakeneeded streamside in-ventory and mapping inlocal communities; andto undertake a numberof pilot projects to assessthe workability of theproposed directive.

A Partnership Com-mittee on Agricultureand Environment (i.e.,Ten Point Committee)has been established to

Streamside Directive -Where Are We Headed?

look at streamside protec-tion on agricultural land.The Committee is made upof the federal and provin-cial government, local gov-ernment and representa-tives from the agriculturalsector. The Committee islooking at issues such as:drainage ditches and howthey can be differentiatedfrom streams in this proc-ess; and how fish habitatcan be protected on agri-cultural land. They will bedeveloping a set of guide-lines for streamside protec-tion on agricultural land.

There are some majorimplementation issues onthe technical side that needto be finalized and/or de-

veloped:• development of a standardmapping, inventory and classifi-cation process;• development of a best man-agement practices guide;• coordinated planning andmanagement process (MELP/DFO);• clarification of roles and re-sponsibilities (i.e., MOU at locallevel)/general proce-dures for approval of projects);• development of enforce-ment and compliance system.

There are some finan-cial and political issues tobe dealt with:• high level protocol between(UBCM/MELP/DFO);• coordinated funding andsupport.

There are currentlysome real unknownsabout the future ability orwillingness of the provin-cial government to con-tinue to provide financialassistance to local govern-ment to protect fish habi-tat. The Urban SalmonHabitat Program, for ex-ample, is scheduled to dis-appear in 2000 and it isnot known whether fund-ing for this program will

Continued on page 20

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14 UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999

FinancialPolicy

Singleton Urquhart Scott3 C x 7"

(repeat Nov 98)

The Problem

By the mid-1990s, changesto the assessment systemand a period of rising prop-erty values, combined tomake it difficult for theBoard to support its pri-mary function: resolutionof assessment disputes ina cost effective and timelymanner. The Board startedcarrying a substantialbacklog of appeals.

Although the Boardmade some progress inreducing the backlog ofoutstanding appeals dur-ing 1996 and 1997, 1,640appeals remained unre-solved at the end of 1997.

The combined value ofproperties in the backlogwas $21 billion, represent-ing approximately $1.4billion in tax revenues.

The backlog of appealscreated uncertainty aboutthe municipal tax base.Taxes are paid in the yearin which the assessmentnotice is sent even if anappeal is filed, therefore,if the Board orders a re-duction in value or achange in class or exemp-tion, municipalities mustissue a refund. Some ju-risdictions had been re-quired to make large pay-ments for tax refunds sev-eral years after the tax yearfrom which they arose.

What Was Done

In 1997, amidst growingconcern over the backlogand dissatisfaction overthe expense and delay in-herent in the system, a re-view of the assessmentappeal system was initi-ated. The review recom-mended that the Boardadopt dispute resolutionapproaches that wouldensure effective case man-agement and early com-munication, initiating aretreat from reliance onexpensive and time con-suming oral hearings. Inearly 1998, the govern-

ment appointed a newChair of the Board, with amandate to operate as achange agent. In thespring of 1998, the Boardcommenced restructuringwith recruitment, througha rigorous competition, offour full-time Vice Chairsthat report to the Chair.

In June, after extensiveconsultation, the Boardadopted new Rules ofPractice and Procedurethat support active andaggressive case manage-ment and promote earlyresolution of appeals.

In July, the Board im-plemented a case manage-ment regime that ensuresthat the progress of virtu-ally all appeals is managedby an accountable ViceChair - from inception toresolution. The Board re-mains in control of theprocess, actively interven-ing to ensure early andadequate disclosure, earlyand clear articulation ofissues and legal principles,and whenever possible,early resolution withouthearing. Concurrently, theBoard adopted a case flowmanagement systemwhich differentiatesamong appeals based oncomplexity, ensuringearly identification of allappeals that can benefitfrom case management.

New legislation wasenacted in October thatenhanced and clarified theBoard’s powers to man-age appeals and conducteffective dispute resolu-tion. The amendmentsenable the Board to main-tain greater control overthe progress of appealsand give the Board thepower to require partiesto engage in dispute reso-lution processes, such assettlement conferencesand appeal managementconferences. These proc-esses support early reso-lution, ensure the partiesare prepared for hearingand reduce time and ex-pense. In addition, theamendments give theBoard greater authority toenforce pre-hearing ordersand penalize parties fornon compliance with theBoard’s rules or orders.

The Future

The final stages of restruc-turing will see, in thespring of 1999, develop-ment and implementationof a new computer systemthat will support schedul-ing, administration andmanagement.

Aggressive hands-onappeal management, aconsistent and firm ap-proach to adjournmentrequests, compulsory par-ticipation in appeal man-agement processes andmandatory early and fulldisclosure of the case to bemet have combined tobring about the necessaryphilosophic shift amongmost members of the as-sessment community.Relationships are build-ing. The focus of the proc-ess is now collaborationand consultation. Withonly a few exceptions,most agents and assessorshave abandoned the inef-fective adversarial ap-proach that previouslycharacterized the appealsystem. As a result, mostappeals are now resolvedwithout hearing, and, in agrowing number of cases,without Board assistance.An observable phenom-enon is that parties now,quite often, work throughthe appeal managementsteps on their own, andmerely report to the ViceChair in charge, withoutthe need for active ViceChair facilitation.

The few appeals that dogo to hearing tend to be therelatively simple singlefamily residential appeals,or the very complex mat-ters where a legal decisionis required to provide di-rection for the future. Inthe latter case, appeal man-agement ensures that theparties are well preparedfor hearing, such that hear-ing time is effectively andefficiently used.

Results

The results speak for them-selves. The Board reducedthe total number of out-standing appeals by one-third between December31, 1997 and December 31,1998, despite receivingmore than 1,500 new ap-peals in 1998. The Boardanticipates that all singleyear appeals for 1998 will

be resolved before the 1999appeal year commences,and repeat appeals for 1998will be resolved concurrentwith previous year appeals.

Board members andVice Chairs are account-able for issuing decisionswithin 60 days after hear-ing, save in exceptional cir-cumstances.

When the new compu-ter system is in place,scheduling will be auto-mated, members will beable to communicate withthe Board more efficientlyand all new appeal fileswill be automaticallystreamed for the appropri-ate degree of appeal man-agement. The system willalso support an interactiveweb site which will allowthe public to downloadinformation and forms,and access Board decisionsusing a “word/phrase”search tool.

With the new systemin place, the Board antici-pates elimination of theentire appeal backlog (ex-cept those that are contin-gent on court decisions),by the end of June 2000.

Benefits forMunicipalities

What does this mean formunicipalities? The pri-mary dividends are:• certainty of the tax base for theyears 1999 and forward• predictability of timing andprocesses for conclusion ofbacklogged appeals• enhanced ability to trackprogress of appeals through theappeal process

Although this is notnew, it is worth restatingthat municipalities havethe option, as of right, tobe added as parties to anyappeal regarding a prop-erty in their jurisdiction.Once made a party, themunicipality would be in-cluded in all case manage-ment processes and givennotice of all appeal events.

As the Board has notyet finalized the face, con-tent, access levels or linksto be associated with itsweb page, it would appre-ciate any thoughts inter-ested people may haveabout content, and searchoptions that they wouldfind most useful. Pleasecontact the Board’s Regis-trar, Richard Rogers, withyour comments: Phone:(604) 775-1740 or E-mail:[email protected].

Change Comes to Property Assessment AppealsContributed by Richard Rogers, Registrar, Property Assessment Appeal Board

1998 was a year of change at the Assessment Appeal Board ...whoops ... make that the Property Assessment Appeal Board -even the name has changed

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UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999 15

AboriginalUpdates

Treaty Negotiation Advi-sory Committee (TNAC)observer status at thesetalks was removed at therequest of the FNS. UBCMis a member of TNAC. TheFNS is opposed to observ-ers, the decentralized na-ture of the FNS politicalstructure, and becausesome chiefs believe thatsome TNAC members arehostile to their cause.Grand Chief Ed John andChief Joe Mathias at-tempted to explain the FNSposition at a meeting withTNAC on December 17.Grand Chief Ed John andChief Joe Mathias ex-tended an invitation, onbehalf of the FNS, to TNACto attend the FNS annualmeeting at the end of Janu-ary to discuss treaty issues.See UBCM Attends First Na-tions Summit Meeting be-low.

Tony Penikett (DeputyMinister, Negotiations,Aboriginal Affairs), JohnWatson (Regional Direc-tor, Department of Indianand Northern Develop-ment), and Joe Mathiashave all stressed that thetripartite talks are not inthe nature of negotiations.They are aimed merely at

improving procedure.Local governments, ofcourse, continue to haveinput into negotiationsthrough TACs.

B.C., Canada and theFirst Nations Summit (FNS)first engaged in TripartiteTalks in the spring of 1998.Four members of the TreatyNegotiation AdvisoryCommittee (TNAC), in-cluding UBCM’s repre-sentative to TNAC, MayorTrumper, were granted ob-server status at these talks.

The talks broke downin April when the FNS re-jected one of four compo-nents of a package tabledby the province. It wasunderstood that TNAC(and therefore UBCM)would continue to begranted observer statusshould serious talksresume.

UBCM and all otherTNAC members have ob-jected to the exclusion ofobservers from the recentround of tripartite talks.

The talks have focusedon the following province-wide issues:1. statement on aboriginal andCrown title;2. the urgency of negotiations fol-lowing the Delgamuuckw decision;

TRI-PARTITE TALKS UP-DATE“Tripartite Talks” between Canada, B.C., and the First Nations Summit(the FNS) resumed in December and have taken place over the last twomonths. The purpose of these talks is to improve the efficiency of theB.C. treaty process with a view to accelerating negotiations.

Treaty negotiatorsfor the Governments of Canada

and British Columbia andthe Sechelt Indian Bandreleased a draft Agree-ment-in-Principle (AIP)on January 26. PremierClark addressed TNAC onthe Sechelt AIP on thesame day. The Premierstated that the combina-tion of the Nisga’a FinalAgreement and theSechelt Treaty will createmomentum for othertreaty tables. Clark madean analogy with labourrelations: he said that oncethree or four treaties areconcluded it will be ex-tremely difficult to comeup with another model;they will “set the pattern”.

Clark said that the AIPwill be signed by B.C.,Canada, and the SecheltNation fairly quickly.Clark said that it wouldprobably be within a cou-ple of weeks in the case ofthe province, however, todate the province has notformally approved theAIP.

According to Clark, theparties will move rapidlyto a final agreement (stagefive in the BCTC process).The Premier said thatthere could be a treatywithin six to eight months.

UBCM has been ad-vised that none of the pro-posed Sechelt Treaty Set-tlement Land (about 1,031hectares of existing Secheltlands and about 933 hec-tares of new lands) is inoverlap areas, however,there are or were someoverlaps off-TSL with theSquamish Nation andwith the Tsimshian andSliammon Nations. Ap-parently, the Squamish re-drew their boundaries toremove the overlap andthe Tsimshian andSliammon Nations havesigned a protocol agree-ment with the Sechelt todeal with their overlaps.

One important provi-sion in the Sechelt AIPwhich has no direct coun-terpart in the Nisga’a Fi-nal Agreement, relates toadditions to TSL.

According to the AIP,Sechelt may submit pro-posals to Canada and B.C.to have up to 3,055 hec-tares of land that they haveacquired or optionedadded to Sechelt TreatyLand. But on land withinthe boundaries of a mu-nicipality may not beadded to Sechelt TSL with-out the consent of the mu-nicipality.

The Sechelt have al-

SECHELT DRAFT AGREEMENT-IN-PRINCIPLE RELEASED

ready indicated an inter-est in purchasing 100 acresof fee simple land and hav-ing it added to their TSLafter a final agreement isconcluded. The land hasbeen on the market for anumber of years, and iswithin the boundaries ofthe District of Sechelt.Chief Garry Feschuk of theSechelt Indian Band hasapproached Mayor BruceMilne of the District ofSechelt to sound him outabout the District’s posi-tion on the 100 acres,should the Sechelt decideto purchase the land.

Mayor Milne ad-dressed this issue at apanel discussion at theAVIM Conference earlierthis month. He said thatthe District must decidehow it will take the Secheltrequest to the communityin the event that the Secheltpursue it. The veto in theAIP would protect the Dis-trict, but it provides noguidance as to how theveto is to be exercised.Mayor Milne said that thisis the sort of issue that lo-cal governments across theprovince will face as weall learn to live with trea-ties. "At the end of theday, it is local governmentthat must find ways toensure that treaties actu-ally do work", he said. Heexpressed the view that,with respect to developedor leased land, consent willprobably not be given un-less adding the land to TSLwill clearly benefit the en-tire region.

Some of the other keyterms in the AIP are asfollows:1. On the effective date,Sechelt treaty land will amountto about 1,988 hectares (288hectares of rural land and 645hectares of urban land). Secheltland is and will be held in feesimple;2. On one of the urban parcelsthe Sechelt will share gravel andtimber revenues with the prov-ince. Each will receive 50% untilspecified extraction levels arereached, and thereafter, Secheltwill receive 100% of the rev-enues;3. The Sechelt will receive $42million in cash;4. Existing interests on SecheltTreaty lands will continue ontheir current terms;5. Sechelt Treaty Lands will beowned in fee simple;6. The Sechelt will own sur-face and subsurface resources;7. The Sechelt AIP incorpo-rates the language used in the

Mayor Gillian Trumper,Director Jim Abram, andUBCM staff, along withother TNAC representa-tives, attended a First Na-tion’s Summit meeting onJanuary 27. The 51 FirstNations involved in theBCTC process, exchangeinformation and ideas atthese meetings, which areheld three or four times ayear. UBCM's presence atthe meeting was somewhathistorical in that it was thefirst time TNAC had beeninvited to and had at-tended them, (althoughUBCM individually hasattended on previous oc-casions). The major faithgroups and the Aboriginal

Rights Coalition were alsoinvited.

Mayor Trumper, JerryLampert (Business Coun-cil of B.C.), John Shields(B.C.G.E.U.), and RuthMadsen (Outdoor Recrea-tion Council of B.C.), asthe original four TNAC ob-servers to the “TripartiteTalks” (see Tripartite Up-date), delivered introduc-tory addresses. Eachstressed the importance ofopenness in the process,and the necessity for ob-servers at the TripartiteTalks in particular. Direc-tor Abram addressed someof the projects that UBCMand the First Nations Sum-mit have undertaken to-

UBCM ATTENDS FIRSTNATIONS SUMMIT MEETING

3. ways of accelerating land, re-sources and cash and financialcomponent negotiations and of-fers, including staged implemen-tation, interim measures, consul-tation, governance, identificationof Nations, and principles for theresolution of overlaps;4. statement on certainty;5. capacity building for First Na-tions; and6. a number of ancillary issues,including principles of good faithnegotiations, compensation, ne-gotiation funding, cost-sharingmemorandum of understanding,limitation period, and role of theBC Treaty Commission.

B.C. and Canada havebeen consulting on a regu-lar basis with TNAC re-garding these talks. Fed-eral and provincial Cabi-net approval of any rec-ommendations comingout of the talks will be re-quired. UBCM has beenassured that there will bea full and complete op-portunity for input priorto that approval, andUBCM staff are currentlyanalyzing the nature andextent of progress beingmade. UBCM will con-tinue to circulate updatesto Treaty Advisory Com-mittees on this importantissue.

gether. Many of the chiefsthen gave speeches. It wasmentioned that an FNS in-vitation to attend TNACmeetings would be a wellreceived "gesture of goodfaith". It was also stressedthat, from the point of viewof many First Nations,TNAC members’ supportfor the treaty process mustbe public - in the media.The need for public educa-tion was also mentioned.Grand Chief Ed Johnclosed by saying he hopedthat the meeting would bethe start of increased op-portunities to speak can-didly with each other.

To date there has beenno progress on the key is-sue of observer status atthe Tripartite Talks.UBCM will continue topush for this status.

TREATYNEGOTIATIONSTATUS AS OFFEBRUARY 8, 1999

There are 51 FirstNations in the BritishColumbia TreatyCommission (BCTC)process.

There is only one negoti-ating table - the Council ofHaida Nation, that has notyet been declared ready toproceed (Stage 2 of theBCTC process).

12 tables are either inthe process of negotiatingFramework Agreementsor have completed nego-tiations and have ex-pressed their intention torecommend approval ofFramework Agreementsto their respective authori-ties, but approval is stillpending (Stage 3 of theBCTC process).

The parties at the re-maining 38 tables havesigned Framework Agree-ments. All but two of these38 tables are in the processof negotiating Agree-ments in Principle (Stage4). The two exceptions arethe Gitxsan, where nego-tiations are suspended,and the Sechelt, where adraft Agreement-in-Prin-ciple was released on Janu-ary 26, 1999 (see SecheltDraft AIP).

There are a number oftables in the Agreement inPrinciple stage which aremaking progress. Someof these include the KaskaDena in the North, theTsleil Waututh (Burrard)in North Vancouver, theI n - S H U C K - c hN’Quat’qua (INNQ) northof Vancouver aroundPemberton, the Ditidahtand Pacheedaht table onthe southwestern coast ofVancouver Island, and theSnuneymuxw inNanaimo. At the INNQtable, for example, Canadaand B.C. have indicatedthat a land and cash offermay be made in the latespring of this year.

Continued on page 16

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16 UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999 MORE ABORIGINAL ISSUES

G ordon Wilson,MLA for PowellRiver-Sunshine

Coast, was appointed tothe provincial cabinet asminister of aboriginal af-fairs and minister respon-sible for the British Co-lumbia Ferry Corporationon January 29.

Premier Clark wasquoted in a B.C. Govern-ment news release as say-ing that Mr. Wilson willbuild on the work offormer minister DaleLovick by implementingthe Nisga’a agreementand furthering the currentseries of First Nations ne-gotiations. “GordonWilson has been a strongadvocate for our First Na-tions people and theirquest for social justice,”Mr. Clark said.

Mr. Wilson addressedthe Treaty NegotiationAdvisory Committee at ameeting on February 25.Director Jim Abram andUBCM staff attended thismeeting. Mr. Wilson saidthat he wants to rebuildtrust and negate some ofthe cynicism that currentlyexists relating to treatynegotiations. He said thathe specifically asked forthe aboriginal portfolio. Itis dishonest, he said, topurport to be negotiatingtreaties if provincial man-dates are less than secure,and it is dishonest to saythat the process is open ifthe mechanisms for pub-lic input are inefficient andineffective.

“Its time to get downto work,” Mr. Wilson said.We need a defined timeta-ble and an effective, expe-dited process for resolv-ing difficult issues andbringing a greater degreeof social unity and eco-

nomic certainty to theprovince than we havetoday. There needs to becertainty that the processwill be concluded, he said.

Mr. Wilson singled outthe need to resolve issuesrelating to fair compensa-tion for those impacted bytreaties, particularly in thefishery and forestry sec-tors. He also mentionedthe need to resolve issuesrelating to conflicting landuses, interim measures,and fair and equitable dis-tribution and access to re-sources.

Mr. Wilson also tookpart in a panel discussionon the Sechelt AIP at therecent AVIM conference.See Sechelt Draft Agree-ment-in-Principle. He reit-erated that the treaty proc-ess must be expedited.“We cannot afford to makean industry out of negoti-ating treaties,” he said. Heagain emphasized theneed to resolve the verydifficult interim measuresand compensation issues.He also acknowledgedthat delays and stagnationcan occur at treaty tableswhen chief negotiators arecontinually being rotated.He said that he hopes tostart a process to developdedicated negotiatingteams.

Local governmentsmust be fully engaged iftreaties are to succeed inthe long term, he said. Forthis reason he is activelyasking for assistance andadvice, and he said that hehas an “open-door policyand open lines of commu-nication.”

Mr. Wilson has ac-cepted an invitation to at-tend the next UBCM Abo-riginal Affairs Committeemeeting in April.

GORDON WILSON APPOINTED ASMINISTER OF ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS

Nisga’a Final Agreement relat-ing to certainty;8. The Sechelt AIP does notalter the existing Sechelt IndianBand governance arrange-ments, which have been in placefor almost 13 years. Govern-ance powers derive from theSechelt Indian Band Self-Gov-ernance Act, which has beencharacterized as a delegatedmodel of law making overSechelt Treaty Lands;9. The Sechelt tax exemptionphase out is the same as inNisga'a: income tax exempt for

B.C. PROPOSES “FAST-TRACK TREATIES”The provincial Negotia-tions Project Team headedby Tony Penikett, DeputyMinister Negotiations, ispreparing a "fast-tracktreaty" proposal. The pro-posal will, if approved byCabinet, form the basis ofoffers to a select numberof First Nations whom theProvince believes are can-didates for success. Se-lected First Nations willbe offered accelerated ne-gotiations on lands, re-sources, and cash whileleaving self-governmentnegotiations to a later date.Mr. Penikett told theTreaty Negotiation Advi-sory Committee (TNAC)at a maintable meeting onJanuary 5 that he envisionsfast-track treaties will take2 years to complete.

It was intended that thisfast track proposal wouldgo to Cabinet at the end ofJanuary; however, PremierClark addressed TNAC onJanuary 26 at which timehe endorsed the “two-track” process. He said thatB.C. would continue mov-ing on negotiated settle-ments within the B.C.Treaty Commission(BCTC) process, and, at thesame, the province wouldpursue fast track treatieswith selected First Nations;but he also said that he wasnot optimistic about fasttrack treaties due, he said,to lack of Federal supportfor the idea, both in princi-ple and in financial com-mitment.

At a subsequent TNACmeeting on February 25both Mr. Penikett and JohnWatson, the regional di-rector of the Departmentof Indian and NorthernAffairs, indicated that thefast-track proposal is stillvery much alive. Mr.Watson stated that trea-ties dealing with core is-sues such as certainty,land, financial measuresand resources may be pos-sible, but at the very leastthey would have to pro-

vide for governance oftreaty settlement land. Ata minimum, he said, Firstnations will require thenormal powers of a landowner to control and man-age land use and develop-ment.

Mr. Watson agreedwith Mr. Penikett thatother self-governmentquestions such as health,education and child serv-ices could be deferred. Mr.Watson called it a “colos-sal waste of resources” totalk about child protection,for instance, at dozens oftables. He said that Canadasupports “regionalization”of these sorts of issues. Mr.Watson also reiterated thatrecognition of an aborigi-nal right to self-govern-ment will remain federalpolicy. The federal gov-ernment sees this policy asthe way out of the IndianAct, he said.

The fast-track idea is atan early stage of develop-ment. It has not been en-dorsed by either Cabinet,but it is something thatmay be expected in thefuture. In the meantime itis not within the currentset of mandates govern-ing provincial treaty ne-gotiators. Gordon Wilsonwas asked about the fast-track idea at the recentAVIM conference. He in-dicated that he did not par-ticularly like the term“fast-track”. He preferredto talk about the discus-sions taking place betweenCanada, B.C. and the FirstNations Summit to expe-dite the BCTC process (seeTripartite Update).

UBCM has raised withthe province the implica-tions of the fast-track pro-posal for the funding ofTreaty Advisory Commit-tees (TACs).

Members interested inmore information on thefast-track proposal are en-couraged to contact theUBCM Aboriginal Affairsoffice at (604) 270-8226.

HOUSE OF COMMONS PASSESTHE FIRST NATIONS LANDMANAGEMENT ACT - SENATENOW TO REVIEW BILL

The House of Commons passed legislation onMarch 8 giving 14 First Nations, including fivein B.C., increased self-government power overmanagement of their lands. The Bill, called C-49, will now be reviewed and voted on in theSenate. When passed by the Senate the Bill willbecome law, but the Senate may consider andmake recommendations as to amendments.

In Ottawa, the Housepassed the Bill by a 177-45margin, with only the Re-form party and three otherMPs (a Conservative, anindependent and a Liberalback-bencher from On-tario) opposing it. All B.C.Liberals voted for the Billwith the exception of Fish-eries Minister DavidAnderson and Status ofWomen Minister HedyFry, who were absent fromthe House.

Bill C-49, if passed bythe Senate, will ratify aFramework Agreement onFirst Nation Land Manage-ment signed by the 14 FirstNations and the federalgovernment in February1996. It will allow partici-pating First Nations to optout of land managementsections of the Indian Actand to establish their ownland codes to manage re-serve land. Bill C-49 doesnot modify the Indian Act,but land-related sectionsof that Act will no longerapply to the 14 First Na-tions once they have en-acted their own land codes.The Bill stipulates the pro-cedures that must be fol-lowed in this regard.

UBCM has not taken aposition on Bill C-49 as atotal package. However,UBCM has had specificconcerns with the legisla-

tion which have been com-municated to the FederalGovernment on numerousoccasions . It is anticipatedthat the Senate will holdhearings in this regard,and UBCM, together withTACs and affected localgovernments, will ensurethat our concerns are fullyrepresented. These con-cerns include:1. absence of a legislative re-quirement for consultation withlocal government before a codeis adopted - or provisions forcontinued consultation within acode.2. potential confusion createdin situations where land man-agement agreements are beingimplemented at the same timeself government authorities arebeing negotiated through the BCTreaty process.3. additional First Nations maybe granted Bill C-49 authoritywithout Parliament’s review.4. expropriation powers thatcan be exercised in relation tolocal government lands.

Recently, the UBCMExecutive supported inprinciple the use of Recip-rocal Consultation Agree-ment to help in address-ing one of our concernswith the legislation, the ab-sence of a statutory refer-ence to consultation onland use matters withneighbouring local gov-ernments.

12 years, fully taxable thereaf-ter; transaction tax exempt foreight years fully taxabletherafter;10. The province is seeking ap-proval to provide a $4 millionloan guarantee on the effectivedate of the treaty to be securedagainst the gravel and timberrevenue.

Sechelt is more ad-vanced than other treatytables in part because of theextensive consultation thathas taken place through-out the negotiations. Ad-

vice has been sought andreceived from local govern-ment and third party inter-ests, and there appears tobe a commitment to main-tain this open approach,and to continue with mean-ingful, timely and informedconsultations.

There are slightly lessthan 1,000 members in theSechelt First Nation.

The Sechelt draft AIPis available on the Minis-try of Aboriginal Affairsweb site at http://www.aaf.gov.bc.ca/aaf/.

Sechelt DraftAgreementContinued from page 15

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UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999 17

Courses andResources

“PROCEDURESTHAT MAKE NOSENSE”Part 3: Those‘friendly’amendments...By Eli Mina, P.R.P.

Much time and energy isoften wasted in Counciland Board meetings, try-ing “to do things right”,and -while doing so - fol-lowing procedures andformalities that make nosense and achieve noth-ing. In the last two issuesof the UBCM newsletterwe discussed several suchprocedures. In thisinstallment, we discussone very common sourceof confusion: The so called“friendly amendment”.

1. The scenario

A motion is introducedand debated, and then amember proposes anamendment. She claimsthat the amendment is“friendly”, and thereforeonly the consent of themover is needed to ap-prove it: “Is this amend-ment friendly to themover?”, she asks. “No”,says the mover. “Whynot?”, asks someone else.Much time is spent tryingto figure out just how“friendly” the amend-ment is. Chaos and confu-sion reign. Some even as-sume that an amendmentwhich is not “friendly” isout of order...

2. What RONR says

After a careful search ofthe 1990 edition ofRobert’s Rules of OrderNewly Revised (RONR,1990 edition), I have notfound the words “friendlyamendment”, or even theword “friendly”. Whichbegs the question: Justwhat is a “friendlyamendment”? Does it hugor kiss you?

But upon further re-search, I said: “Eureka !!”.On RONR page 52, Ifound a reference to “rou-tine business”, or “questionsof little importance”, to

which “there seems to be noopposition”. This is as closeto “friendly” as RONRgets. It indicates that theformality of a motion maynot be required for suchroutine proposals, andthat the vote on them canbe taken by “unanimousconsent”, i.e.: The Chairasks: “Is there any objec-tion to ___”, pauses, and -in the absence of any ob-jection - directs that theaction be taken.

If, however, an objec-tion is raised, a formal voteon the proposed actionwould usually be needed.This does not mean that“unanimous consent” isnot a legitimate vote. It isindeed a method of vot-ing, albeit an informal one.But the decision is just asbinding as one made by aformal vote.

3. Two questions toaddress

With this in mind, let usreturn to our “friendli-ness” discussion. Typi-cally, the proponent of a“friendly amendment”means an amendmentwhich “is acceptable to themover”, or “is supportiveof the intent of the mo-tion”, or “is of a house-keeping nature and onlyseeks to clarify andstrengthen the wording ofthe motion”, or “is not in-consistent or hostile to theintent or spirit of the mo-tion”.

Which raises two ques-tions. First: Is it the makerof the original motion (ex-clusively) who decidesthat a “friendly amend-ment” (under any of theabove definitions) will beapproved? And second: Ifan amendment is not“friendly”, is it out of or-der? The answers to bothof these questions is: No.

As to the first question:Under RONR page 39, themover has control over themotion only until it isstated by the Chair andopened for debate. Afterthis, the mover loses con-trol over the motion. Itnow belongs to the mem-bers, and its fate is in theirhands. It is the members -and not the mover -whodecide whether the mo-tion will be amended, andwhether it will be subse-quently adopted, rejected,postponed or referred to acommittee. The principleis: The majority rules. It isa democratic rule, and not“the tyranny of the indi-vidual or the minority”.

As to the second ques-tion: Under RONR page132, an amendment mustbe germane, or “in someway involve the same ques-tion ... to which it is applied”.In other words: Theamendment has to relatein some way to the mainmotion. Does it have to be“friendly”? Well, here issomething which may sur-prise you: “An amendmentcannot introduce an inde-pendent question, but anamendment can be hostile to,or even defeat the spirit of theoriginal motion and still begermane”. The mover doesnot have the exclusiveright to accept “friendlyamendment” nor to blocka hostile amendment

4. Simplifying theprocess

Having clarified this, thereremains the underlyingneed to simplify the col-lective decision makingprocess, and to avoid atime consuming debate ona non-controversialamendment. This can beaccomplished via the“unanimous consent”, asexplained earlier. But it is

the members who decideto waive the debate andthe formality of adoptingthe amendment, and notthe mover.

5. An Example

Example: A motion to pur-chase a computer at a costnot exceeding $2000 is in-troduced and debated. Amember proposes whatseems to be a non-contro-versial (“friendly”?)amendment to add thewords `including alltaxes’. The Chair asks: “Isthere any objection to add-ing `including all taxes?”.If there is no objection, theChair declares that theamendment has been ap-proved, and resumes thedebate on the amendedmotion. If there is an ob-jection (by any member,and not only the mover),the Chair opens theamendment for debate,later takes a formal voteon it, and only thenresumes the debate on themain motion (original oramended)..

6. In closing

Once again: If a meetingprocedure makes nosense, it may well be thatit is used because of habit,and not due to an estab-lished principle.

All the best in your meet-ings !!

Eli Mina(repeat Nov 98)

3 C x 2"

Bylaw EnforcementCoursesThe brochures for the Justice Institute Bylaw Enforce-ment Level I and Level II courses were recently mailedto municipal and regional district offices. The matterof effective bylaw enforcement and prosecution is anongoing concern of UBCM’s. This course is an inten-sive training session at the Justice Institute of B.C. andis designed for those involved in enforcement andprosecution of local bylaws. The content is compre-hensive and presented by knowledgeable individualsfrom the various fields.

Upcoming 1999 class dates for Level I are March 8- 12 and May 17 - 21. The Level II course will be heldApril 19 - 23.

For further information, please call the registrationoffice at the Justice Institute at (604) 528-5590.

‘NEW DIRECTIONS’IN ENVIRONMENTAL

POLICY:Conference on Local Government and

Environmental Legislation/Regulation

May 20-21, 1999Delta Pacific Resort and Conference Centre

Richmond, B.C.

A Conference Presented in Cooperation with theMinistry of Environment, Lands and Parks;Ministry of Municipal Affairs; Fisheries and OceansCanada; and Union of B.C. Municipalities

The conference will focus on new directions beingundertaken in environmental policy and the futurerole of local government in environmental policy.

Over the two days the conference will look at a broadrange of environmental issues, such as:

• Contaminated Sites Review• Solid Waste Management - Stewardship Programs• Fish Protection - Streamside Directives• Sewage Management: New Regulations for Ur-

ban and Rural Areas• Greenhouse Gas Policy• Drinking Water Management• Pesticide Management

The conference will provide an opportunity to:

• Network with local and provincial governmentdecision-makers

• Be proactive in leading your community in envi-ronmental issues

• Look at the future direction of environmentalpolicy and the role of local government in envi-ronmental protection

The Conference will commence at 8:30 a.m. on Thurs-day and end at 3:00 p.m. on Friday.

Mr. Eli Mina M.Sc.,P.R.P. is a Vancouver-based Registered Parlia-mentarian, ProfessionalPresiding Officer, andPublic Speaker. He spe-cializes in Robert’s Rulesof Order (and other par-liamentary manuals),Chairing ContentiousMeetings, Public In-volvement Programs,Resolving Organiza-tional Disputes, andHot-Seat Training.

Eli can be reached at(604) 730-0377, or by e-mail:

[email protected] can also visit Eli’sweb site at http://planeteer.com/~mina(without the customary“www”).

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18 UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999

Municipal FinanceAuthority of BC

1998 Chairman'sReportLen Traboulay, Mayor of Port Coquitlam

THE AUTHORITY HAS HAD ANOTHER DRAMATIC YEARof growth, change and success.

Our investment pool in its 10th anniversary year has broken allprevious records in size, pushing through the billion dollar barrierto top out at $1.1 billion on July 8th, 1998. Ten years ago when weinitiated this new idea for local government in British Columbia, wehad no idea of its popularity or of its eventual growth potential.

The pool was originally seen as an investment opportunity forsmaller to medium-size municipalities but the attractive returnsappeal to all sizes of municipal jurisdictions. At this point it wouldbe appropriate to reflect on the past ten years and thank thefollowing partners:1. Our private sector partners, Phillips, Hagar & North Ltd. andRoyal Trust who have helped make the pool such a success.Both companies entered the Canada-wide competition in 1989,offering low rates, superior performance and the courage to takeon a new, unproven concept at historically low management fees.2. The public partners, the MFA Board of Trustees and the staffof the Authority, who pioneered the concept in 1989 and then laterintroduced it to the municipalities of Ontario, Manitoba and the FirstNations on a consulting basis.3. Our investors, the municipalities and regional districts of BritishColumbia, who enthusiastically took up this new idea. They tookthe volumes from $100 million in the 1st year to $900 million in the4th year. Over time hospitals, schools, colleges and universitieshave also been steady investors as have the First Nations throughthe First Nations Finance Authority.

(Figure 1)

After providing investment pool services to thirty First Nationsacross Canada, we then began work with our staff, First Nationsstaff and our investors towards the creation of a First NationsFinance Authority (FNFA) to access financial markets under theauthority of its own collective credit. We are active consultants tothe FNFA and the Federal Government on this ongoing project.

Another joint project in Quebec was recently triggered by theinvestment pool concept. MFA staff and I were back to QuebecCity and Montreal for a week early in 1999 to offer consultingservices to the Province of Quebec and the Association of Munici-palities of Quebec. We also were invited to visit the Province ofOntario and Nova Scotia to put in place similar projects.

As a tribute to these ten successful years, the Trustees havecreated an Educational Fund for elected and appointed officialseffective in 1999, which will in perpetuity receive 1/2 basis pointfrom the Authority’s portion of the management fees to be used fortraining purposes, administered by a committee from the MunicipalFinance Authority, Union of B.C. Municipalities, Municipal Officers’Association and Government Finance Officers Association.

Phillips, Hagar & North Ltd. and Royal Trust have both agreedto make contributions, as business allows, to this fund. All three ofus will take this from our earnings, with no increase in managementfees to our clients.

As a result of low management fees and effective investing

strategies, our after-cost earnings for the pool have again ex-ceeded both the three-year and the one-year rates of all otherchartered bank mutual funds of similar types.

(Figure 2)

During 1998, the Authority offered some new financial man-agement tools to its members. These voluntary products – forwardstarting swaps and blend and extends – are designed to allow ourmembers to actively manage their future refinancing risks by“locking-in” these future interest rates now, based on today’shistorically low rates. Throughout 1998, twenty-five members tookadvantage of these products by locking-in $116 million of futurerefinancings.

At its semi-annual meeting in the fall of 1998 the Authority,at the request of the GVRD, agreed to become the fiscal agentof the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (GVTA).The GVRD swapped their Regional Hospital District debt foradditional transit responsibilities and also received additionaltax room with that overall agreement. The lower mainland wasprobably the only heavily urbanized area in North America thatdid not have control over its own transit structure, and had longsought more control over transportation in general, and transitin particular.

The MFA’s role in the success of any Regional District issubtle but critical. A cost-effective and efficient capital financ-ing facility was clearly vital for this new entity’s success, andas these are the raison d’être of the authority, the GVRD ofcourse approached the MFA to fulfill this role. We took thisstep after careful review, including confirmation from the ratingagencies that there would be no threat to our current enviablestatus. This financing will not only be subject to all the controls thatnormally protect the Authority, such as joint and several liability ofthe municipalities of the GVRD, and approval of any borrowing bythe Inspector of Municipalities, but remains conditional on theratings staying unaffected. The GVTA will also be required tocontribute 2% to the debt reserve fund, which is twice the amountrequired at the municipal level.

While access to financing is critical to the GVTA, existingmembers also benefit from the greater liquidity of future issues,and from the improved distribution of issue cost overheads. The1999 Annual Meeting will see the first borrowing request on behalfof the GVTA. It will cover the existing debt on the transportationassets being taken over by the GVTA – a thousand buses, onehundred and fifty SkyTrain cars, and hectares of land. As well, ourmeeting will no doubt see the first financing of new buses, roads,and other infrastructure components as the GVTA takes its firststeps to address the years of chronic under-funding.

The debt of Regional Hospital Districts province-wide has nowbecome our responsibility; but only for those jurisdictions outsideof the GVRD.

The old regional hospital debt outside the GVRD amounts toapproximately $300 million, with the yearly requirements beingabout $50 million.

This move was partly in response to repeated requests fromRegional Hospital Districts which came via letters and also re-sulted in several UBCM resolutions.

The E-Comm project was officially opened this year. We wereproud to play a role in raising the $146 million required for thisproject.

The sinking funds paid out $10.4 million in surpluses this year

and stopped collection of an additional $35.2 million in loanpayments which pertain to the aforesaid surpluses.

(Figure 3)

Leasing growth has pushed our year-end totals to approxi-mately $23.4 million. The interim financing program also had atremendous year, topping off at $54 million mid-year.

(Figure 4)

Our investment pool managed by Phillips, Hagar & North Ltd.performed well, posting the following returns:

1998 Since inceptionMoney Market Fund 4.85% 7.08%Intermediate Fund 5.20% 6.29%Bond Fund 6.71% 9.98%

By the end of 1998, the Authority’s outstanding debt was$2.268 billion in Canadian funds and $1.9 million in U.S. funds.The movement to Canadian dollars is almost complete. In the fall,we re-opened and expanded our spring issue making the overallsize (spring and fall) in excess of $400 million.

The year 1998 also marks the fifth year in a row that ouroperations dividend has exceeded the tax levy by 2 1/2 times. Againin 1998 our tax levy was around $100,000 and our dividend was$250,000. Our total dividend paid since 1992 now equals $1.4 million.

(Figure 5)

Our Financial Forum this year was an astounding success.The evaluations came in very high for all the sessions. It wasattended by over 100 students from B.C. High Schools andUniversities, as well as our local government members and manybankers. Altogether we had 275 attend this event.

The morning began with a presentation on Quebec. Amongthe speakers were Gordon Gibson of the Fraser Institute andformer Premier Daniel Johnson. After the morning session, theformer Premier found time to meet with the students over lunch.

The afternoon’s sessions, ably chaired by Iona Campagnolo,featured a variety of speakers. From the Fraser Institute, GordonGibson; from the Laurier Institute, Roslyn Kunin; from the Nisga’aperspective, Edmond Wright; from the Sechelt perspective MayorBruce Milne; with the historical aspect coming from Paul Tennantand the Provincial view from Deputy Minister Philip Steenkamp.

Thanks to all the Trustees for another productive, harmoniousand change-filled year. Thanks to our members who have placedtheir confidence in us and finally thanks to our staff for another yearof sustained creativity.

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UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999 19

MemberServices

Tel: (604) 531-1421Fax: (604) 531-8402

Toll-Free: 1-800-667-1421

300 – 1676 Martin DriveSurrey, B.C.V4A 6E7

ESTABLISHED 1951

THOMPSON & McCONNELLBARRISTERS & SOLICITORS

Robert C.P. Walker Gregory M. Vanstone Marjorie E. MooneyJ. Craig Moulton Rodrick H. MacKenzie Michael C. WoodwardGeorge B. Rush Geoff A. Thiele Jeffrey J. SmithA.K. Thompson (ret’d) William C. McConnell (ret’d)

SERVING MUNICIPALITIES FOR OVER 30 YEARS

1999 Community Development InstituteLocal leadership for Sustainable Communities

If you want to make a difference in the world, start byparticipating in your own community! Youth andadults interested in working together to change theircommunity for the better are joining together for aweek of festivities and workshops, July 25 - 30, at the1999 Community Development Institute (CDI).

The CDI is a community education festival that willoffer over 70 workshops on issues of social justice,community economic development, environmentalstewardship, governance, and working together toimprove our communities and make our voices heard.

Some workshops of interest include “Urban LandEconomics for Beginners,” “Learning to Count - Meas-uring the Quality of the Life in our Community,” “Ap-proaches to Community Economic Development -Outside In and Inside Out,” “The NeighbourhoodSustainability Audit,” “Town Hall Meetings that Work,”“Y2K Connections - Building Communities Not Cri-sis,” “B.C. Treaty,” “Getting Good Government,” and“The Role of Ethics in Effective Governance.”

Participants are welcome to register in one work-shop or for the entire week. They will learn how todevelop sustainable, self-reliant communities and meetcommunity activists and leaders from across B.C.

The Institute is sponsored by the Social Planningand Research Council (SPARC) of B.C. and will behosted by the community of Chilliwack. For furtherinformation or to request a program calendar, pleasecontact the Community Development Institute (CDI)at (604) 718-7755 or by e-mail ([email protected]).

EXHIBIT DATES: SEPTEMBER 29-30, 1999Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre

For booth sales information and a report on "Purchasing by Local Government in BC" call:

Lemaire & Co.: (604) 730-0535.

THE Place To Do Business With Local Government

Note to UBCM Members: This is YOUR opportunity to meet the service providers -please let us know who you would like to see on the tradeshow floor! Fax leads toUBCM: 604-270-9116.

Less than one month of marketing andMunicipal Marketplace Tradeshow & Exhibition is

Over 50% SoldDon't miss your chance!

E X H I B I T O R I N F O R M A T I O N

at the 96th Annual UBCM Convention

Municipal Marketplace Tradeshow & Exhibition

CivicNet

For municipalities/regional districtsconsidering a

website, there was a verygood article in the Novem-ber/December 1998 Govern-ment Computer. The articleis titled “Building a Success-ful Website: the three stages”and discusses the first stageof development, the pre-production stage. The arti-cle concludes by indicatingthat the second and thirdstages, the production stageand the post-productionstage, will be reviewed inupcoming columns.

If you are interested inadditional information onthe above article pleasecontact Gerald Lemay at(613) 233-5751 or email [email protected].

UBCM staff are con-tinually updating theCivicNet website(www.civicnet.gov.bc.ca)

CP Program Departs

and you may wish to checkout some of the new itemswhich include:• Provincial Transfer Cuts (homepage)• 1999 UBCM Convention TradeShow ( home page)• HEABC Physicians Recruit-ment program (under Links -other)• 1999 Short-term Vehicle Pro-gram (under UBCM - MemberServices).

If you would like addi-tional information regard-ing the website, pleasecontact Barbara Ingamells,Manager, Member Serv-ices at e-mail: [email protected].

Effective February 28,1999, the Certified Profes-sional Program (CPP)moved from UBCM to thejoint auspices of the Ar-chitectural Institute andthe Association of Profes-sional Engineers andGeoscientists. The CPPallows architects or engi-neers, who have taken aspecial course of studieson the Building Code, tohave access to expeditedbuilding permit approv-als for complex buildings.The program originatedwith the City of Vancou-ver in 1979 and it becamepart of their Charter in

1981. Since that time, theCity of Surrey and severalother municipalities haveadopted the program.UBCM has been provid-ing administrative sup-port to the CPP committeesince 1993.

After a legal review ofthe program, and a subse-quent failed attempt to re-structure the program un-der the Municipal Act, itwas decided by the UBCMExecutive that UBCMcould no longer appear to“support” the programthrough our administra-tive services or the use ofthe UBCM logo.

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20 UBCM NEWS MARCH 1999

Creative Paving Solutions(3 C x 7")

new – previously sent

Municipal governmentsstruggle to address con-cerns about street involvedchildren and youth, a prob-lem that is not exclusive toBritish Columbia commu-nities. In March 1998, the"2nd International Summitof Sexually ExploitedYouth Out From the Shad-ows" was held in Victoria.The summit, co-sponsoredby the Office of the Om-budsman and the Univer-sity of Victoria School ofChild and Youth Care, wasa follow-up to the 1996World Congress againstthe Commercial Sexual Ex-ploitation of Children heldin Stockholm. It was anopportunity for those indecision-making positionsor positions of influence tolearn about solutions fromthe young people who hadpersonal experience assexually exploited childrenand youth.

Out From the Shadowsbrought together forty-five young people fromCanada, the United States,Central and SouthAmerica who had sur-vived commercial sexualexploitation. The youthdirected the conferenceproceedings and devel-oped an agenda for action.The summit was intendedto give voice to theseyoung people in the spiritof Article 13(1) of the UNConvention on the Rights

STREET WISE• reduces the return optionsfor consumers - may createconfusion amongst consum-ers as different communitieshave different return options;• potentially it could createregional disparities in the col-lection of beverage contain-ers.

Unknowns

There are still a lot of un-knowns given that the ex-panded beverage con-tainer system has onlybeen operating for fivemonths. A lot of ques-tions remain as to howwell the new system isworking, around the fol-lowing issues:

Consumer awareness/information needs - Is theconsumer fully aware ofthe new containers andhow the system works?

Return rates for thenew containers intro-duced - What is the returnrate for the new contain-ers introduced into thesystem? Will this rate besustainable in the future?

The infrastructure tohandle the increase in bev-erage containers is not inplace at the present time -Will the infrastructure ex-pansion proposed by in-dustry be adequate tomeet consumer needs?

The handling fee fordepot operators has notbeen determined at thistime and there has notbeen any opportunity toassess what the economicimpact will be on theseoperations - Will the exist-ing depot system be eco-nomically viable once thenew handling fee is agreedto?

Industry implementa-tion: there is no commonindustry strategy to dealwith expanded beveragecontainers, one major re-tail chain is looking at de-veloping its own return-to-retail system; and,

Solid Waste Manage-ment Plans - there is cur-rently no link between thesolid waste managementplanning process and thebeverage container man-agement process.

The new beverage con-tainer management sys-tem has not been in opera-tion long enough to assesshow well it is working.There are a few problemsin the system but overall itappears to be workingwell.

Beverage Container

Continued from page 13

be continued. There aresome indications thatfunding to the Ministry ofEnvironment, Lands andParks may be subject tomajor cutbacks in theupcoming budget and thismay limit the ability of theministry to support andparticipate in the imple-mentation of a streamsidedirective.

The federal Depart-ment of Fisheries andOceans (DFO), on theother hand, has been allo-cated a $100 million pro-gram to protect and en-hance fish habitat. DFO atthe present time is assist-ing a number of local gov-ernments in the develop-ment of streamside map-ping and inventoryprojects. A number of newfederal programs will belaunched in 1999, the fed-eral government intendsto provide communitygroups with training and

Streamside Directive

Continued from page 13

of the Child, which states:The child shall have the

right to freedom of expres-sion; this right shall in-clude freedom to seek, re-ceive and impart informa-tion and ideas of all kinds,regardless of frontiers, ei-ther orally, in writing orin print, in the form of art,or through any other me-dia of the child’s choice.

Through creative ex-pressions: visual art, thea-tre, song, music, poetryand stories, adults attend-ing the summit heard andlearned about the horrify-ing experiences of the chil-dren who lived on thestreets and survivedsexual exploitation. Theadults who attended didnot direct, instruct, lecture,or advise the youth abouthow to solve the problems.The adults were not thereto give advice to the youth.Adults were there to lis-ten, and to recognize andacknowledge the expertiseof youth in understand-ing the problem and find-ing solutions.

The stories of youthdelegates were powerful.One of the co-chairs,Cherry Kingsley, said, werepresent thousands ofvoices. Many of ourfriends are dead: fromdrugs, from suicide, fromAIDS, from murder. Formany participants thesummit was the first op-

portunity to tell their storyin a safe environment.These young people werearticulate, thoughtful andintelligent, and while theirstories were painful, theirmessages were positiveand uplifting. Ms.Kingsley noted if you seethem only as victims youhave missed the point.These young people couldbe leaders.

The other co-chair,Honourable SenatorLandon Pearson, encour-aged the youth to be heardand said, "All that youhave to share, all the suf-fering will be transformedto help others and thenthe world will listen." Theyouth delegates devel-oped a Declaration andAgenda for Action towhich we, as adults, couldcommit. The declarationis an affirmation of therights of all children in-cluding the right to be pro-tected from exploitationand harm. The youthagenda for action states:

Our Agenda containsactions that are based onour beliefs. Our beliefshave come from what wehave lived. To understandwhy these actions will

work, you must under-stand our beliefs and thelife experiences that haveled to these beliefs. Webelieve that:

Education is vital in ourstruggle against the sexualexploitation of childrenand youth;

The voices and experi-ences of sexually exploitedchildren and youth mustbe heard and be central tothe development and im-plementation of action.We must be empoweredto help ourselves;

We have a right to re-sources that are directedtowards sexually ex-ploited children and youthand our very diverseneeds;

As children and youth,we are all vulnerable tosexual exploitationwhether male, female, ortransgendered;

Our laws must protectus as sexually exploitedchildren and youth and nolonger punish us as crimi-nals;

We are all responsiblefor our children andyouth, the issue is not oursalone. Governments, com-munities and society as awhole must be held ac-countable for the sexualexploitation of childrenand youth.

At the September 1998

UBCM Convention inPenticton, the Office of theOmbudsman facilitated aworkshop for conventiondelegates to view a videoproduced at the summit, tomeet some of the youthdelegates from the summitand discuss the issues per-son to person. This wellattended forum was anopportunity for commu-nity leaders to hear directlyfrom the youth about com-munity actions that canprevent our young peoplefrom becoming victims ofcommercial sexual exploi-tation.

The Ombudsman hasbeen a leader in the pro-motion of the UN Con-vention on the Rights ofthe Child both in BritishColumbia and at a nationaland international level.The Ombudsman has pro-moted youth participationin matters that affect themthrough sponsorship ofconferences and a teamdedicated to addressingcomplaints about servicesto children and youth.Community leaders inter-ested in more informationabout the declaration andagenda for action fromOut From the Shadowscan contact the Ombuds-man Office or visit theOmbudsman website athttp:\\www.ombud.gov.bc.ca.

assistance in monitoringthe streams in local areas;additional federal fisher-ies officers are to be em-ployed to monitorstreamside activities; andthere may be some federalfunding available to localcommunities to do map-ping and inventory workand other activitiesneeded to protect fishhabitat.

The overall objective ofboth the federal and pro-vincial government is tohave local governmentconsider the protection offish habitat as an impor-tant community assetwhen making decisionsabout future develop-ment. It is not clear at thistime that they are able andwilling to work togetherto assist local governmentwith the financial andtechnical assistance thatwill needed to implementstreamside directives.