Dear friends, colleagues, and supporters,
I’m happy to announce that our city and region had great success this year at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities. After missing the deadline for submitting motions in 2009, council was determined to ensure that our priorities were considered in 2010. As such, we put forward 7 important motions, 6 of which got passed. We also spoke out against or otherwise opposed motions contrary to our regional priorities.
Here’s a list of Victoria motions that were passed at UBCM 2010:
B14 – Provincial Alcohol Reduction Strategy based on reports by the Centre for Addictions Research of BC and Dr. Perry Kendall.
B35 – Development of a Species & Ecosystem Protection Act for BC.
B57 – Reinstatement of Legal Aid for BC.
B77 - Allocating Larger Portion of Federal Gas Tax Revenue to Local Governments.
B145 - Having Province Set a Base-Level of Harm Reduction for All BC Municipalities, including needle exchange.
B146 - Moving Federal Medical Cannabis Programme to Provincial Responsibility.
The only real disappointment was that B155, a motion to limit private clinics and stem the erosion of public healthcare, was very narrowly struck down in rather undemocratic circumstances due to a lack of time at the end of the final policy session (it was the last motion to be considered).
However, in other good news, motions to increase funding and availability to supports for mental illness (B42) and addiction treatment (B44) also passed, as did motions to create a Provincial Poverty Reduction Strategy (B51), and to increase food security (B100/B119) and funding for alternative energy (B80). Additionally, a motion to secure the viability of short-line railways (B107) was passed, as was one to re-instate gaming grants funding for the arts (B115). Lastly, Victoria was a key supporter of motions to put a legislative ban on offshore oil drilling and explorations (B138), and to further ban bulk oil tanker traffic off northern BC coast (B139).
Best regards,
Philippe Lucas
Victoria City Council
