City of Powell River Council approved three resolutions for the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) convention in Victoria this April.
At the February 1 city council meeting, councillors unanimously carried the three resolutions, which deal with housing authority feasibility study work, extreme weather response shelters and provincial core funding for public libraries.
The housing and weather shelter resolutions were brought forward by councillors Trina Isakson and George Doubt. The libraries resolution was brought forward by councillor Earl Almeida.
The housing authority resolution requested that AVICC and Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) petition the provincial government to provide grant funding for municipalities and regional districts to plan and create entities that provide and manage non-market housing in their communities.
The extreme weather shelter resolution is requesting that AVICC and UBCM petition the province to recognize that the emergency weather response program is insufficient to address current social challenges and community capacity to meet those challenges. It recommended that a provincially driven solution be determined in collaboration with community leaders to ensure that service delivery by existing provincial agencies that are tasked with providing social service supports, including shelter spaces, is strengthened. It also requests that adequate funds are available to rent facilities and necessary equipment such that community organizations tasked to deliver this program are appropriately resourced.
Regarding library funding, the resolution suggests that the AVICC call on the provincial government to recognize the evolving and challenging situation for public libraries, as well as their unique role as community spaces. The recommendation is to increase annual core funding for libraries in the province to $30 million, in keeping with the request made by BC public library partners and the recommendation of the province’s select standing committee on finance and government services.
The resolution also recommended that increases in core funding be made on a yearly basis in keeping with the cost of living and inflationary pressures.
The resolution stated that the core funding for libraries from the province has remained unchanged since 2009.
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