Panel to perform independent review of BC Transit

VICTORIA – Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Blair Lekstrom has selected three people with expertise in finance, transit and municipal affairs to conduct the BC Transit Independent Review.

Lekstrom called for an independent review after listening to the concerns of some mayors and other locally elected officials about BC Transit’s performance and operations. The minister welcomes the opportunity to support the communities’ efforts to improve transit services.

Local governments identified representatives of the Regional District of Nanaimo and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities to work with the ministry to develop the terms of reference and identify potential panel members.

The three panel members are Chris Trumpy, Catherine Holt and John King. Trumpy will chair the panel.

Over the next several months, the panel members will be seeking input from local governments and BC Transit. The panel will be focusing on the following:

• Operations and performance: examining the efficiency and effectiveness of transit services.
• Governance: examining the existing structure, processes and policies in place for BC Transit, as well as the Capital Regional District’s request that the regional district perform the functions of the Victoria Regional Transit Commission.
• Funding relationships between BC Transit and local governments: examining the processes for capital planning, budgeting and operating expenditures and how transit service is allocated, priorities set, charges imposed and expenditures monitored. Increases to provincial and local government funding will not be included in the review.
• Communications and consultation between BC Transit and local governments.

The panel will submit a report to government by the end of August 2012. The Province will ensure the report is available to the public and will consider all recommendations.

BC Transit is the provincial Crown corporation responsible for co-ordinating transit service with local government funding partners in over 50 communities in British Columbia, outside of Metro Vancouver. The independent review will not include Metro Vancouver transit service.

Quotes:

Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Blair Lekstrom –

“BC Transit provides good transit service, although there is always room to improve. I have selected a knowledgeable and experienced panel that will examine the issues and provide recommendations. I am looking forward to receiving their report by the end of August. I am optimistic the independent BC Transit Review will help make transit even better.”

Regional District of Nanaimo chair Joe Stanhope –

“The minister listened to our concerns about BC Transit and has responded by setting up this panel. I’m hopeful the independent review will give local government and BC Transit new ideas and tools that will improve the way we can work together, particularly in the areas of rising costs, funding, governance and communications.”

Union of British Columbia Municipalities president Heath Slee –

“Local governments have an integral role in planning and funding transit services in B.C. communities. The Union of B.C. Municipalities supports the terms of reference for this review and looks forward to the panel beginning its work.”

Saanich Mayor Frank Leonard –

“This independent review of BC Transit will address many of the issues mayors have been talking about. For me, I’m particularly interested in seeing the review examine the Capital Regional District replacing the Victoria Regional Transit Commission.”

Quick Facts:

• BC Transit is the provincial Crown agency charged with co-ordinating the delivery of public transportation throughout British Columbia, outside of Metro Vancouver.
• In most municipalities, the Province contributes 47 per cent of funding for conventional transit service and local governments contribute 53 per cent. Local funding includes fare and advertising revenue as well as property tax.
• In Greater Victoria, the Province contributes 32 per cent of funding for conventional transit service and the Victoria Regional Transit Commission contributes 68 per cent of funding. Local funding includes advertising and fare revenue, property tax and regional fuel tax.
• BC Transit has:
• 58 local government funding partners, including the Victoria Regional Transit Commission.
• Operations provided by 18 private operating companies, five public operating organizations and 15 non-profit agencies.
• 51.2 million passengers carried in 2010-11.
• Over 1.5 million people served in B.C.
• 81 transit system agreements – conventional, custom and paratransit.
• Fleet of 1,028 conventional and double-deck buses, minibuses and vans.
• $249 million in expenditures in 2010-11.

Learn More:

BC Transit Independent Review:  www.th.gov.bc.ca/BC_Transit_Review/index.html

BC Transit Independent Review terms of reference: www.th.gov.bc.ca/BC_Transit_Review/documents/TermsOfReference.pdf

VICTORIA – British Columbia continues to face challenging global economic conditions, but fiscal prudence and a focus on a competitive economy that creates jobs and attracts international investment will help B.C. manage these risks, Finance Minister Kevin Falcon said in a speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade today.

In his address, Falcon reviewed the state of the 2011 provincial economy, the outlook for the coming year and discussed the importance of making British Columbia more competitive for job-creating businesses.

As part of ‘Canada Starts Here: the B.C. Jobs Plan’, the minister also announced the government has appointed an Expert Panel on Tax to provide analysis and recommendations to the Province on business tax competitiveness and administrative improvements to streamline the Provincial Sales Tax.

The panel will have the following members:

• · Chair: Sarah Morgan-Silvester – chancellor of the University of British Columbia.
• · Lindsay Hall – chief financial officer, Goldcorp.
• · Laura Jones – senior vice-president research, Economics & Western Canada, Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
• · Elio Luongo – Canadian managing partner, KPMG and vice-president of the Vancouver Board of Trade.
• · Fiona Macfarlane – managing partner, Western Canada and chief inclusiveness officer, Ernst & Young LLP
• · Grace Wong – senior advisor international, office of the provost and vice-president academic, University of British Columbia and former assistant dean international, Sauder school of business.
• · (Adjunct Member) Dale Wall – former deputy minister, Ministry of Community and Rural Development, Province of British Columbia.

The expert panel will consider the competitiveness of British Columbia’s tax environment for business and develop recommendations about which taxes most influence competitiveness and economic growth. It will also identify and develop recommendations for ways in which the Government of British Columbia could address tax avoidance within the business or personal taxation systems. A component of the review will also look at municipal property taxation of business.

The panel’s recommendations must respect the Province’s balanced-budget framework. The report will be submitted by Aug. 31, 2012.

Quick Facts:

• · Private sector forecasters currently expect B.C. real GDP to have increased by 2.3 per cent in 2011, and to average 2.1 per cent growth in 2012.
• · B.C. exports were up 14.5 per cent year-to-date to October, despite a sluggish US economy and an elevated currency, highlighting B.C.’s diversified trade portfolio.
• · Export gains were largely in energy products (25.4 per cent), forestry (10.9 per cent) and industrial and consumer goods (14.8 per cent).
  • o Softwood lumber exports to China were up 92.2 per cent in the first ten months of 2011 compared to the same period of 2010.
  • · British Columbia’s low debt-to-GDP ratio — a key measure of affordability — forecast at 17.2 per cent for 2011-12. B.C. is one of only three provinces with a triple-A credit rating.

• · At 10 per cent, B.C. has the lowest general corporate income tax rate in Canada, along with Alberta and New Brunswick.
• · When all taxes are considered, British Columbians generally have one of the lowest tax burdens in the country.

Strata Property Act consultation launched

VICTORIA – The Province is seeking public input through an online discussion paper and survey launched today that introduces a new approach to resolving strata property disputes.

The paper presents a tribunal model for review and includes details on:

• The proposed model.
• The role of the tribunal.
• The process involved to reach a settlement or ruling.

The approach would make dispute resolution services available to any strata owner in the province by offering an accessible, efficient and lower-cost alternative to the courts system and the current arbitration model.

The survey gives more than half a million strata owners in B.C. an opportunity to provide feedback and help shape the new model. Over 1,600 strata owners have already pre-registered.

The survey will be available until Monday, Oct. 31, 2011 at 4:30 p.m. and can be accessed at:  www.bcstrata2011.malatest.net

For more information on the survey and strata corporations, please visit: http://housing.gov.bc.ca/strata

Connect with the Province of B.C. at: www.gov.bc.ca/connect

Consultation on Draft Canada-wide Approach for the Management of Wastewater Biosolids

May 30, 2011 – July 30, 2011
Consultation materials for the draft Canada-wide Approach for the Management of Wastewater Biosolids are now available for public review and comment until July 30, 2011. CCME encourages all interested organizations and individuals to review the consultation materials and provide comment.

FREDERICTON (CNB) – New Brunswickers are invited to participate in an engagement process on the property taxation and assessment system; on a new regional services delivery approach; and on municipal funding arrangements.

Local Government Minister Bruce Fitch will launch the process this week.

“We will work with New Brunwickers to find solutions that are fair and sustainable for municipalities and local service districts,” said Fitch. “Together, we will find ways to deliver services more efficiently while we ensure effectiveness in property assessments and taxation.”

The citizen engagement process will happen in two phases.

The first phase phase will engage stakeholders on the topic of regional service delivery. This phase will take place between now and the end of April, involving the provincial government; municipalities; local service district advisory committees; and service providers.

The second phase will engage the public on a new regional services delivery approach; as well as on property taxation and assessment; and on municipal funding options. This phase will take place between April and June.

Locations for the stakeholder and public meetings will be announced in the coming weeks.

“This process will garner a lot of interest, and we want to ensure that everyone has a chance to be heard,” said Fitch. “We will take the time to get this right, because we are committed to bringing positive change to the system.”

INFORMATION BULLETIN

STRATA PROPERTY ACT SURVEY LAUNCHED

VICTORIA – More than half a million strata owners and residents will have an opportunity to shape new regulations that improve accountability within strata corporations through a public consultation survey that launched today.

The new rules are expected to be in place by fall 2011 and will help protect strata owners by requiring strata corporations to provide:

• Audited annual financial statements.
• Depreciation reports to help strata corporations plan for future maintenance costs.
• Better disclosure for purchasers regarding the parking and storage that come with the strata unit.

Close to 1,000 strata owners have already pre-registered for the survey. A second public consultation concerning better ways to resolve disputes that inevitably arise in stratas is scheduled to take place later in 2011.

The survey will be available until March 7 at 4:30 p.m. and can be accessed directly at:  https://securesurveys.gov.bc.ca/welcomeALL.pl?SURVEYNAME=stratasurvey1

For more information on the survey and strata corporations, please visit:  http://www.housing.gov.bc.ca/housing/strata.htm.

A waste paint recycling program will soon be established in the province. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has implemented amendments to the Waste Management Regulations under the Environmental Protection Act in order to introduce a paint recycling program targeting waste paint products. Changes to the regulations will allow producers to play the primary role in managing the end-of-life treatment of their products through the development, funding, and management of a recycling program for most types of residential and commercial paints. The program will take an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) approach, meaning that paint producers will be responsible for the paint from the point of production through to post consumer recycling. This will be the first EPR-based recycling program for the province.

“New industry-led, financed and operated waste diversion and recycling programs, such as this waste paint recycling program, will bring the province another step closer to achieving the 50 per cent waste reduction goal of the Provincial Solid Waste Management Strategy,” said the Honourable Charlene Johnson, Minister of Environment and Conservation. “Paint often contains toxic or hazardous materials and, if these products are dumped into landfills or storm sewer systems, they can pollute the air, land and water. Proper management of waste paint now can help avoid higher clean-up costs in the future.”

Under the amended regulation, paint producers are required to:

• Register with the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board (MMSB);
• Submit a plan to develop, finance and manage the collection and recycling of their products either on their own or through a non-government industry-appointed stewardship organization;
• Collect and recycle paint products when they reach their end of useful life;
• Provide adequate geographic coverage to all consumers within Newfoundland and Labrador;
• Maximize local economic benefits;
• Provide proof the waste paint is being recycled in an approved legal manner; and,
• Provide regular updates on how their products are being designed to be more environmentally sustainable.

MMSB is responsible for approving the plans, or plan if submitted by industry organization, and for ensuring compliance with the agreed-upon timelines, requirements and targets. The regulation also maintains high standards for the collection and recycling of paint waste materials from an environmental, economic, social, and health and safety perspective.

“The extended producer responsibility approach will require the producers of products, such as paint, to play the main role in handling the end-of-life treatment of their products,” said Leigh Puddester, Chair and CEO of the MMSB. “Manufacturers will undoubtedly start to think about ways to redesign their products to be more environmentally friendly, and more cost efficient and easier to recycle.”

Amendments to the Waste Management Regulations under the Environmental Protection Act were developed in consultation with the paint industry including manufacturers, distributors and retailers, as well as environmental groups and the general public.

Paint producers now have 90 days to submit a detailed plan outlining their proposed recycling program. The submission will explain the details of how industry proposes to run their recycling program, including planned start-up date, locations to collect waste paint from users throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, and targets for recycling waste paint into new paint. Plans, or plan if submitted by an industry organization, must be approved by the MMSB before the program can be introduced.

For more information on the changes to the Waste Management Regulations, visit www.assembly.nl.ca and www.mmsb.nl.ca.

The MMSB is a provincial Crown agency that reports to the Minister of Environment and Conservation. MMSB supports modern waste management practices in the province, with a particular focus on waste diversion, recycling and public education, in order to ensure a clean and healthy environment throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

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