Australian National Review – Drugs, public safety among topics British Columbia city councillors will discuss next week

Community leaders across British Columbia will meet in Vancouver next week to discuss priorities for action by the provincial government. Drugs, mental health, homelessness and public safety are among the resolutions announced ahead of the meeting.

Last year’s Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention received a lot of attention for a resolution the government passed calling for a ban on drug use in places where children gather and in other public spaces.

The UBCM helps map out the new problems that municipalities see emerging and how they want the province to respond to, among other things, the opioid crisis and public safety issues. The conference will run from 16 to 20 September and will include 267 resolutions, 25 percent more than last year.

Other resolutions on the agenda deal with taxes, transportation and the environment, with some seeking to help the struggling forestry sector, which affects much of the province.

Opioid Crisis and Mental Health

Funding to address drug addiction is a common request from municipalities this year. One resolution asks the provincial government to help expand and open more supervised consumption and overdose prevention sites, including inhalant services. Another asks for funds to open new detox centers.

Some municipalities are calling on the province to implement complex care centres, as the increase in overdose cases has led to brain damage in addicts. According to them, this often results in organ failure, mental disorientation, impaired motor skills and behavioural changes.

Another agenda item calls for the government to allocate resources to improve access to mental health care, drug addiction treatment, medical services and affordable housing. It cites the increasing pressure on fire departments to handle emergency responder calls, as well as the impact of the opioid crisis and mental health issues.

Another resolution focuses on community safety in the context of mental health and substance abuse, saying these social issues “impact the safety, security and well-being of residents.” Supporters say the county government is not responding as quickly as needs arise, leaving local governments to take action with limited resources. They are asking that municipalities receive funding for mental health and addiction services.

Housing and homelessness

One proposal calls for provincial and federal governments to partner with nonprofits to provide affordable housing. This could include below-market rents and financial instruments such as low-interest loans, 25-year long-term interest rates and expanded eligibility for tax credits.

A resolution proposed by UBCM leadership and identified as a priority calls on the provincial government to finance the housing growth it has imposed.

“Local governments are increasingly taking on functions that have historically been the responsibility of provincial and federal governments, including providing land and other financial support for non-commercial and supportive housing,” advocates wrote, adding that municipalities have also shouldered costs related to emergency medical care and camps for the growing homeless population.

Other resolutions take direct aim at homelessness. One calls on the province to expand permanent and temporary shelters and expand its current homelessness reduction program, Belonging in B.C., beyond “qualifying limitations.” Another asks the province to fund new dedicated shelters for asylum seekers — who, advocates say, are increasingly coming to them — to make room for the local homeless population.

Some municipalities are asking the province to re-evaluate its shelter system to meet the “increasingly complex” needs of the homeless population, partly due to addictions and mental health issues, the municipalities said.

Other resolutions call for provincial assistance for residents affected by weather-related events such as wildfires and floods, including losses not covered by insurance, and assistance in rebuilding their homes and businesses. Municipalities also ask the province to take responsibility for local flood protection and mitigation infrastructure such as levees and pumping stations.

Other issues

It calls for the appointment of a provincial ethics commissioner who would “provide fair and impartial guidance to local governments on issues such as legality, conflicts, code of conduct violations and bullying.” If approved, the resolution would make ethics training mandatory for all new elected officials.

Forestry is also a focus, with some municipalities calling for timber rights – the ability to harvest and sell wood independent of land ownership – to be tied to local sawmills even if they close. This would allow local communities to inherit the company’s rights to the timber harvested on their land, rather than having it taken elsewhere for commercial purposes.

In an effort to reduce the number of vehicle crashes in the province, some are calling on the government to expand the Intersection Safety Camera (ISC) program. This would allow remote municipalities to install red lights and speed cameras at some of their high-risk intersections to “save lives and reduce injuries.”