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News and Announcements August 13, 2021

Local Government News


Kelowna Receives Receives $3.2 Million Grant for Outdoor Sheltering Strategy
Funds from the grant will be used by the City of Kelowna, PEOPLE Employment Services, Metro Community, Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society and the Canadian Mental Health Association Kelowna to support critical services for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.

  Posted: August 12, 2021

City of Victoria Mayor Releases Statement on New Funding for Strengthening Communities in BC
The City of Victoria will receive more than $4.7 million through the Strengthening Communities’ Services Program adding capacity to address the impacts of homelessness and keep communities safe and healthy as they recover from the pandemic.

  Posted: August 12, 2021

Summerland Votes Unanimously to Proceed with Further Exploration of Eco-Village Development
The sustainability-focused residential development proposes new homes to be built to a high environmental standard using alternative energy sources aiding in both climate resiliency and greenhouse gas mitigation.

  Posted: August 12, 2021

Village of Cumberland and CUPE Local 556 Ratify Four Year Collective Agreement
The agreement includes wage increases of $0.64 effective January 1, 2021, and two per cent annually in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

  Posted: August 11, 2021

CUPE 2086 Welcomes New Members from the Village of Granisle
Eight workers from the Village of Granisle became members of CUPE 2086, District of Houston municipal workers, in a Labour Board vote counted on July 26.

  Posted: August 11, 2021

City of Maple Ridge Launches E-Commerce Support Program for Small Businesses
The ShopHERE powered by Google program will provide digital storefronts for 25 small businesses across Maple Ridge, free of charge. Digital Main Street will administer the program and hire recent graduates from local post-secondary institutions to create the online stores, which will be powered by cutting-edge software from renowned e-commerce companies Shopify and Square Online.

  Posted: August 11, 2021

Maple Ridge Council Approves Collective Agreement with Firefighters' Union
The new contract covers the period from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021 and includes an annual wage increase of 2.5 per cent.

  Posted: August 11, 2021

Vancouver Council Selects City's First Auditor General
After a broad recruitment search, City Council has appointed Mike Macdonell (he/him/his) in the newly created role of Auditor General for the City of Vancouver. The appointment follows the November 4, 2020, Council approval of the establishment of the Office of the Auditor General.

  Posted: August 9, 2021

25 new EV chargers in Vancouver, North Burnaby, New Westminster
British Columbia’s network of public electric vehicle (EV) fast-charging stations is expanding with the opening of 25 new stations in Vancouver, North Burnaby and New Westminster, making it easier for people commuting in the Lower Mainland to charge up their EVs.

  Posted: August 6, 2021

 

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Announcements


OUR CONDOLENCES TO DIANE KALEN-SUKRA & FAMILY

All of us at CivicInfo BC wish to extend our deepest sympathies to Diane Kalen-Sukra, whose husband Jerome passed away in a tragic accident on August 4, 2021.  As a former CAO, speaker, consultant, and the author of Save Your City, Diane is well-known by many in British Columbia and across Canada. 

Friends and colleagues have been asking how they can support Diane and her four children during this difficult time.  Accordingly, we would like to refer interested individuals to the following pages:

https://www.nelsonstar.com/obituaries/jerome-sukra/
https://www.gofundme.com/f/sukra-family-memorial-fund
 



COMMUNITY RESILIENCY INITIATIVE FIRESMART COMMUNITY FUNDING & SUPPORTS PROGRAM
 
Community Wildfire Resiliency funding


Applications are now being invited for the 2022 Community Resiliency Initiative FireSmart Community Funding & Supports program. Local governments and First Nations in BC are eligible to apply for funding to undertake community-based FireSmart planning and activities that reduce the community’s risk from wildfire.  The intake is open until October 8, 2021.

Eligible applicants may apply for up to $50,000 or $150,000, depending on their specific risk of wildfire.  There are opportunities to apply for additional funding for regional districts, and for fuel management proposals that include Provincial Crown land within and adjacent to community boundaries.

Full details are now available in the 2022 CRI FCFS application materials.

The First Nations’ Emergency Services Society, Forest Enhancement Society of BC and Union of BC Municipalities are working with the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development to deliver the FireSmart Community Funding & Supports program.
 

PLANNING INSTITUTE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA



PIBC is excited to announce the winners of its annual Awards for Excellence in Planning.  The Institute annually recognizes the professional work and individual accomplishments of members across British Columbia and Yukon through its awards and recognition program. This year, the Awards for Excellence in Planning honoured the best in professional planning work undertaken by members in four categories.

Due to the current COVID-19 safety protocols, the 2021 PIBC Award winners were announced online on Thursday, June 17th, during the PIBC 2021 Annual Conference – North of Normal (June 15-18).  It is with great pleasure that PIBC announced the following 2021 winners:

AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN POLICY PLANNING, CITY & URBAN AREAS
 

  • Gold: City of Victoria - Victoria Housing Strategy Phase Two 2019-2022
  • Silver: City of North Vancouver - Safe Mobility Strategy


AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN PLANNING PRACTICE, CITY & URBAN AREAS
 

  • Gold: Canada Lands Company, MST Development Corporation, & DIALOG – Heather Lands Rezoning Plan
  • Silver: City of New Westminster - Municipal Regulations to Deter Renovictions 
  • Honourable Mention: City of New Westminster - New Westminster COVID-19 Pandemic Response: Transforming Planning Practice and Saving Lives

AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN POLICY PLANNING, SMALL TOWN & RURAL AREAS
 
  • Gold: Salmo Valley Early Childhood Advisory Committee, C+S Planning Group, John Foster Planning, Splash:Design, & Licker GeoSpatial Consulting - Salmo Valley Child Care Inventory and Action Plan
  • Silver: Thompson-Nicola Regional District - North Thompson Official Community Plan
  • Honourable Mention: City of West Kelowna & Lanarc Consulting - West Kelowna's Community Vision, #OurWK a Vision to 2040

AWARDS FOR RESEARCH & NEW DIRECTIONS IN PLANNING
 
  • Gold: Third Space Community Planning & Generation Squeeze - Regulating Short Term Rentals: A Toolkit for Canadian Local Governments 
  • Silver: Plassurban Consulting Inc - Child in the City: Planning Communities for Children and their Families


Congratulations to this year’s PIBC Award winners!  For more information about the Awards, please visit http://www.pibc.bc.ca/pibc-awards.


 
LANDSURE SYSTEMS LTD.
A Subsidiary of the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia

LOTA Compliance Requirements for Local Governments

Local governments (e.g. Municipalities, Regional Districts, Townships, or Villages) are required to comply with the Land Owner Transparency Act (LOTA), which directs that an application to register an interest in land must be submitted together with a transparency declaration. This includes interests in land that are registered in the name of a local government, in the name of a wholly owned subsidiary of a local government, in the name of a corporate nominee or some other entity.

There are very limited exclusions to the requirement to file a transparency declaration; only where the land is an excluded Indigenous land or prescribed land under section 6 of LOTA. In certain circumstances, local governments may also be required to file a transparency report.

Interests in land under LOTA include an estate in fee simple; a life estate in land; a right to occupy land under a lease that has a term of more than 10 years, or a right under an agreement for sale to occupy land, or require the transfer of an estate in fee simple.

Information filed under LOTA is housed in a publicly accessible registry known as the Land Owner Transparency Registry (LOTR). To understand more about legal obligations under LOTA, local governments are encouraged to seek guidance from a legal professional.

To learn more about LOTA, please visit:
 
 
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