Andrew MacLeod, Tyee, May 14, 2021 – The president of the body that represents municipalities in British Columbia says many members of the organization will be “puzzled” by the provincial government’s decision to cancel a program that provided them with grants for climate action.
The B.C. government started the Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program in 2010 as an incentive for local governments to sign onto the province’s Climate Action Charter, said the Union of BC Municipalities president and Vanderhoof city Coun. Brian Frenkel in an emailed statement.
“It was enormously successful and resulted in nearly every local government in B.C. becoming a Charter member,” Frenkel said.
“This week the province decided to end this program in a notice to local government staff,” he said. “UBCM was not consulted prior to this decision being made.”
In 2018, the most recent year for which figures are available, 187 local governments participated in the program and received millions of dollars in grants.