The Peace River Regional District says it's still at odds with the new Emergency Disaster and Management Act, reiterating that compliance with the new legislation still amounts to downloading to municipalities from the province.
Directors revisited the topic during their Feb. 8 committee of the whole meeting, and a motion passed recommending the board consider establishing two new full-time positions, an Emergency Program Officer, and an Emergency Program Coordinator.
A second motion also passed, recommending the board consider setting aside $250,000 in their Emergency Planning budget to pay for the two new positions.
PRRD Chair Brad Sperling attended an Electoral Area Directors conference held by the Union of BC Municipalities on Jan. 30 and 31, and said there's been push-back by fellow regional districts over the lack of public consultation, but hopes there’s an opportunity to take part in a new working group as the province works out the new legislation.
“We have due diligence, and we have concerns for our people moving forward. And we just can’t do it if we’re going to be left in the dark, and then just have this stuff put on us, and try and work through it,” said Sperling, noting he feels two hires may not be enough.
It’s not just the emergency act changes that concern him, added Sperling. Bill 44, the Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Act, recent amendments to the Land Act, and the Wildfire Act are also on his mind, all provincial legislation the PRRD is not responsible for enacting, but must comply with.
“It’s just one thing after another, but you know, we say we don’t have the capacity and the resources, and the province is already downloading this constantly on us,” Sperling said.
Electoral Area D Director Leonard Hiebert also attended the conference and noted that other districts are feeling frustrated over the amount of downloading from the province. Clarity is also needed on the new legislation as it’s yet be fully written, he added, with municipalities referring to the old regulations in the meantime.
It’s also unclear what the penalties are if a regional district or municipality fails to comply, added Hiebert, noting the financial burden required may simply be impossible for some.
“You’ve got some small communities that are going to be overwhelmed with this, including some regional districts,” he said. “And so you know, that penalty side is going to I think get them to either find people somewhere to try and get it done or someone is just going to do it off the corner of the desk, and it’s going to be done halfway, instead of the way it should be done.”
Electoral Area B Director Jordan Kealy said his constituents are not in favour of the new legislation, noting there’s a disconnect between the province and local governments, a ‘top-heavy’ approach that isn’t working.
“After attending that conference, it really did show the disconnect between provincial law and local politicians that have to deal with the constituents on a regular basis,” said Kealy.
“Rather than trying to help the emergency situation that we had last year, this just complicates it further and draws resources away from practical solutions,” he added. “Whether or not this is law, my constituents don’t agree with this, I don’t agree with how this is being done.”
Electoral Area E Director Dan Rose said the new legislation might not survive the provincial election and could disappear if a different party forms government, noting opposition has talked about changing it. Push-back for clarity is needed before anyone is hired, argued Rose.
“We weren’t happy with the old act and how it left us hanging, this one’s worse,” he said, noting the new legislation creates a lot of confusion.
“It puts staff and authorized people into positions they may not know they’re getting into as far as so-called positions of authority, and we haven’t figured out how we’re going to deal with that yet,” added Rose, noting previous liaison roles have failed due to other parties not having time to work with the PRRD.
“I don’t really care if they’ve created legislation or not, if no one can tell you what the regulation is, except it’s the same as the old ones, we have that system in place,” said Rose, pointing out the PRRD already operates emergency centres and issues orders as needed.
Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka voted against both motions, cautioning that the PRRD should not be paying for the positions, arguing the costs should be covered by the province since it's their mandated legislation.
"Because as soon as we fund it, the government's not giving you a refund. Everything they keep downloading on, whether it's the regional districts or municipalities, comes down out of our tax base," he said, suggesting a letter be sent to the province requesting funding.
PRRD CAO Shawn Dahlen said the biggest aspect to manage under the new legislation is collaboration, noting they expect to potentially consult with at least 23 First Nations groups over emergency management plans as tenure holders are decided by the province, in addition to engaging with their own member municipalities.
“That engagement piece, those preliminary documents and that work, is specific to what we’re asking for right now at this time,” he said. “That’s a large piece of work, I mean, 120,000 square kilometres of potential emergency.”
It’s unclear just how much work is needed at present, he added, as the province is still developing the new legislation, but the two new positions’ roles would be to navigate act requirements.
In the past six and half years since he’s been employed with the PRRD, Dahlen said there’s likely only been about six months where the regional district hasn’t been in a state of emergency.
Pouce Coupe Mayor Danielle Veach asked whether there’s a timeline for the new legislation to be written, noting she saw how PRRD staff struggled to keep up with their workload as emergency events unfolded last summer, with three village employees borrowed from her own municipality to assist, in addition to recruiting contractors.
“It’s for the safety of our constituents, that I will be supporting this, due to the fact that the fire season is coming,” said Veach, noting the region is already experiencing significant drought.
“But I’m still incredibly concerned about the legislation as it begins rolling out and how much of a voice we’re going to have once we start accepting things slowly,” she added.
Sperling says the new legislation is expected to be fleshed out over the next two years or more, also expressing concern about being prepared for the upcoming wildfire season.
“In the meantime, we have residents to look after and a legislation to adhere to, and the other thing is response. Fire season isn’t that far off,” he said.
