News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 11, 2016
CVRD Resolutions Endorsed by Vancouver Island Conference Delegates
Duncan, BC – Over the weekend, 14 Directors of the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) attended the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) conference in Nanaimo. At this conference, two CVRD Directors were elected to the AVICC Board with Mary Marcotte assuming the position of first Vice-President and Ian Morrison elected Director at Large.
Directors attended a number of workshops including an Electoral Area Forum the CVRD helped organize and facilitate. A number of topics were discussed including derelict vessels, rural road pathways, road maintenance, as well as closure of federal facilities.
The Directors also attended workshops on Local Government and First Nations: Foundational Legal Principles; Social Procurement & Social Enterprise; and Moving Forward with Integrated Asset Management.
Conference delegates endorsed the following four resolutions put forward by CVRD. These will be forwarded to the Union of BC Municipalities convention in September.
Ban on single-use plastic shopping bags
The CVRD advocates for a full or partial ban of plastic bags at the manufacture and retail levels in BC.
Establishing local public notice policies
The CVRD recommends amending both the Local Government Act and the Community Charter by replacing the mandatory requirement to place public notification advertisements in local newspapers with the requirement to adopt a public notice policy. This will enable local governments to choose their own manner of providing public notice tailored to best serve their local communities based on local criteria. The current requirement to give notice by advertising in local newspapers can be very challenging for regional districts since newspaper circulation areas do not necessarily align with regional district boundaries as well as the closure of some regional newspapers.
Review of professional reliance model
The CVRD is advocating the Province assess the effectiveness of current professional reliance regimes in order to reduce potential for conflicts of interest, ensure appropriate checks and balances, improve environmental performance and restore government approval authority where necessary.
Pedestrian/cycling pathways along rural road rights-of-ways
The CVRD encourages the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to demonstrate the Province’s commitment to mobility alternatives in rural areas by introducing regional government authority in the planning and development of regional off-road transportation networks and infrastructure within Ministry road rights-of-ways.
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For more information, please contact:
Jon Lefebure, Chair
250.746.3122
chairperson@cvrd.bc.ca