Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

ADAM OLSEN -- It’s long past time for a new fiscal framework for communities

The well-being of our communities is threatened -- and solutions have been in front of provincial politicians for a long time.

We must modernize local government legislation in British Columbia and provide local elected leaders access to the fiscal tools they need to build resilient communities.

This is now even more urgently required as COVID-19 has caused community leaders to empty reserves and has increased the strain on property taxes exposing financial vulnerabilities that have been lingering under the surface for many years.

Intergovernmental relationships

A decade ago I stood at the microphone at the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) annual convention and asked then-Premier Gordon Campbell and then-Leader of the Official Opposition Carole James about the relationship between the province and local governments.

I had only been elected to the Central Saanich Council table for a very brief time, but it was all the time I needed to understand how deeply dysfunctional the relationship is. Neither leader responded with any interest in addressing the systemic problems and unfortunately many of those issues remain today.

Like so many of our colleagues populating the government and opposition benches, both my BC Green Party Caucus colleague Sonia Furstenau and I started our journey in governance at the local table. The frustrating responses I received a decade ago are in large part what inspired me to step aside from the Council table to run provincially.

Importance of local government

Decisions made by local governments have a powerful impact on our social, environmental and economic well-being. Local government is the closest to the daily lives of people.

One of the most important responsibilities of local government are the zoning decisions that determine where and how the community develops. Local government also builds and maintains critical infrastructure for the water and sewer services required by a modern society, the roads and transit system that our economy rides on, recreation centres where we play, cultural venues where we express ourselves, and other civic assets that breathe life into our communities.

That’s why ensuring community governance is effective and properly resourced is so important and that responsibility is solely on the shoulders of the provincial government. While local governments make key decisions, they rely heavily on the provincial and federal government grant programs to help fund the work.

The day-to-day operations of local government are funded primarily through property taxes. On the other hand, most infrastructure projects are paid for by borrowing, savings and grants from other levels of government.

This is where the system breaks down, as there is often a clash of priorities that local governments usually lose. As a result, they are forced to rework local priorities to match provincial/federal ones. Frankly, this does little to serve the local needs and more to serve the wishes of politicians who want to keep their job, and the partisans insatiable desire to grow their influence and power.

New fiscal framework

The Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM), of which the AVICC is a regional body, have long advocated for a new fiscal framework to fund our communities. In 2013 they released a major report called Strong Fiscal Futures.

The BC Liberals were in government back then and they ignored it, just as the current BC NDP government continues to overlook it.

The dysfunctional intergovernmental relationships that are legislated through the Local Government Act, and the Islands Trust Act, are holding us back.

No provincial government going back decades has had the political will to have an open discussion about local governance. As a result, the arbitrary lines drawn in policy (and on maps) in another era have been entrenched.

The UBCM report offered a variety of solutions to the primary challenge of every local government - limited access to revenue. It is not sustainable for them to rely only on property taxes and it's not responsible governance to always be amending their strategic plans based on the political whims of provincial politicians.

COVID-19 exposes vulnerabilities

This situation has made our communities vulnerable and less resilient. There is a growing infrastructure deficit and the need to renew critical infrastructure dramatically outweighs the fiscal capacity challenging many leaders who know their communities cannot afford to continue borrowing from the future.

This situation has simmered in the background since well before the 2009 AVICC. However, in recent stakeholder engagement meetings with economists about the economic recovery from COVID-19, the warning for the provincial government was clear.

According to the economist, local government cannot survive on property taxes alone, COVID-19 is exposing the frailty of the system as it exists and the provincial leadership must to something about it. I suspect that this comes as no surprise to every one of my colleagues in the BC Legislature who have any experience in local government.

Where to from here?

This is not the time to bail out local governments with short term programs that just provide more cover for the deep structural problems. There has never been a better time to dig in and show real leadership at the provincial level.

Let’s empower our community leaders with the tools and resources they need to face the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century as a key partner in an equitable green recovery for BC.

It is time for the provincial government to rise to the challenge of modernizing local governance legislation in British Columbia as a legacy of the COVID-19 recovery to:

  • Facilitate safe conversations about community and regional governance,
  • Be better partners in building resilient communities, and
  • Provide a robust fiscal toolbox for local governments to do their important work.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BC’s Forestry Decline Is a Policy Failure, Not a Market Reality -- Forestry Critic Calls for Accountability and Urgent Policy Reset

Conservative Party of BC Forestry Critic, and Kamloops - North Thompson MLA,  Ward Stamer As the Truck Loggers Association convention begins today, BC Conservative Forestry Critic Ward Stamer says British Columbia’s forestry crisis is the result of government mismanagement, not market forces, and that an urgent policy reset is needed to restore certainty, sustainability, and accountability. “For generations, forestry supported families and communities across BC,” said Stamer.  “Today, mills are closing, contractors are parking equipment, and families are being forced to leave home, not because the resource is gone, but because policy has failed.” Government data shows timber shipment values dropped by more than half a billion dollars in the past year, with harvest levels falling by roughly 50 per cent in just four years. At the same time, prolonged permitting timelines, unreliable fibre access, outdated forest inventories, and rising costs have made long-term planning impossib...
Post a Comment
Read more

BC cannot regulate, redesign, and reinterpret its way to a stable forestry sector. Communities need clear rules, predictable timelines, and accountability for results.

Photo credit:  Atli Resources LP   BC’s Forestry Crisis Continues with Closure of Beaver Cove Chip Facility   As industry leaders, Indigenous partners, and contractors gather this week at the BC Natural Resources Forum in Prince George, the gap between government rhetoric and reality could not be clearer. Just hours after the Eby government once again touted reconciliation, certainty, and economic opportunity under DRIPA, Atli Chip Ltd, a company wholly owned by the ’Na̱mg̱is First Nation, announced it is managing the orderly closure of its Beaver Cove chip facility. The closure comes despite public tax dollars, repeated government announcements, and assurances that new policy frameworks would stabilize forestry employment and create long-term opportunity in rural and coastal British Columbia. “British Columbians are being told one story, while communities are living another,” said Ward Stamer, Critic for Forests. “This closure makes it clear that announcement...
Post a Comment
Read more

Eby government signs another land-use agreement, as they say one thing and do another, during DRIPA chaos

While promising to fix DRIPA, the Eby government continues to quietly sign binding land-use agreements that fundamentally alter how Crown land is governed in British Columbia. On January 15, 2026, the government signed four ministerial orders advancing the Gwa’ni Land Use Planning Project with the ’Na̱mg̱is First Nation, amending the Vancouver Island Land Use Plan and changing how more than 166,000 hectares of Crown land can be accessed, developed, and managed. “This is Land Act reform by stealth,” said Critic for Indigenous Relations Scott McInnis. “British Columbians already rejected these changes once. In 2024, public backlash forced the NDP to pull its Land Act amendments. Instead of listening, this government has gone underground, signing individual deals behind closed doors, just like we’ve already seen in places such as Squamish, Teẑtan Biny, and across Northwest BC.” “The Premier admits DRIPA ( the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act) is creating ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more