Medical Cannabis in British Columbia
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COUNCIL INFORMATION PACKAGE December 6, 2017 Page Regional Council Calendar 4 December 11 - 17, 2017 Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) 5 GAS TAX AGREEMENT COMMUNITY WORKS FUND Re: Community Works Fund Payment 6 - 43 GAS TAX AGREEMENT IN BRITISH COLUMBIA Re: 2016 Annual Expenditure Report 44 - 56 CANNABIS LEGALIZATION AND REGULATION IN BC Northern Health 57 - 58 NEWS RELEASE November 29, 2017 Re: 17 Communities in the Northern Health Region to Benefit from Funding to Increase Physical Activity 59 NEWS RELEASE December 1, 2017 Re: Flu Policy for Visitors in Effect at all Northern Health Facilities 60 MEDIA BULLETIN December 4, 2017 Page 1 of 123 Page Re: Northern Health Connections Modified Holiday Schedule Other Local Governments 61 - 65 DISTRICT OF SICAMOUS Re: Increase Awareness and Education for the Threat of Quagga and Zebra Mussels into BC Lakes Provincial Ministries 66 - 67 PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION BOARD Re: Passenger Transportation Board to Hold Public Meetings into Greyhound Canada's Application to Reduce Bus Service in BC 68 - 101 MINISTER OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SOLICITOR GENERAL Re: Cannabis Regulation in BC - Public and Stakeholder Engagement September 25, 2017 - November 1, 2017 Miscellaneous Correspondence 102 - 103 BC ACHIEVEMENT FOUNDATION Re: BC Community Achievement Awards - Nomination Deadline, January 15, 2018 News Articles 104 - 105 BC LOCAL NEWS Re: Barkley Community Forest Revenue Rolls In November 28, 2017 106 - 107 BC NEWS Re: BC Releases First Decisions on Cannabis Regulation After Public Engagement December 5, 2017 (See Cannabis Regulation in BC - Public and Stakeholder Engagement Listed Under Provincial Ministries) Business and Industry 108 KERR WOOD LEIDAL Re: Sponsorship Payment of Spookerama NRRM Cheque Distribution List 109 - 123 CHEQUE DISTRIBUTION REPORT/VOIDED CHEQUE LIST Page 2 of 123 Page November 22, 2017 - December 5, 2017 Documents Available Upon Request INFRASTRUCTURE November 2017 UPDATE Fall 2017 Page 3 of 123 Regional Council December 2017 January 2018 December 11, 2017 - SuMo TuWe Th Fr Sa SuMo TuWe Th Fr Sa 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 December 17, 2017 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 28 29 30 31 31 Monday, December 11 Tuesday, December 12 Mayor Streeper Away Mayor Streeper Away 6:30pm - 8:30pm Regional Council Meeting (Bear Pit) Wednesday, December 13 Thursday, December 14 Mayor Streeper Away Mayor Streeper Away Friday, December 15 Saturday, December 16 12:00am Mayor Streeper Away NRRM Christmas Party (Recreation Centre Community Hall) Sunday, December 17 Kathy Giesbrecht 1 12/6/2017 8:41 AM Page 4 of 123 UBCM (miUriondsC November 21,2017 Mayor Bill Streeper Northern Rockies Regional Municipality Bag Service 399 Fort Nelson , BC VOC 1RO Dear Mayor Bill Streeper: RE: GAS TAX AGREEMENT COMMUNITY WORKS FUND PAYMENT I am pleased to advise that UBCM is in the process of distributing the second of two Community Works Fund (CWF) payments for fiscal 201712018. An electronic transfer of $145,538.07 is expected to occur within the next 30 days. These payments are made in accordance with the payment schedule set out in your CWF Agreement with UBCM (see section 4 of your Agreement). CWF is made available to eligible local governments by the Government of Canada pursuant to the Administrative Agreement on the Federal Gas Tax Fund in British Columbia. Funding under the program may be directed to local priorities that fall within one of the eligible project categories. Also included with the 2017118 funding payment is a one-time federal legacy infrastructure funding payment, which was committed by the Government of Canada in Budget 2016. Further details regarding use of CWF and project eligibility are outlined in your CWF Agreement and details on the Renewed Gas Tax Agreement can be found on our website at www.u bcm.ca. For further information, please contad Gas Tax P~ogramServices byg-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 250-356-51 34. Kind regards. Wendy Booth UBCM President PC: Kelly Sheppard, Director of Finance Page 5 of 123 GAS TAX AGREEMENT IN BRITISH COLUMBIA Page 6 of123 2016 AnnualAn Expenditure Report 2016 Gas Tax Annual Expenditure Report This Annual Expenditure Report covers the disbursements and expenditures of federal Gas Tax funding for the period of January 1 to December 31, 2016 and in accordance with reporting requirements outlined in Schedule D of the 2014-2024 Administrative Agreement on the Federal Gas Tax fund between Canada, the Province of British Columbia, and UBCM (Gas Tax Agreement or GTA). This report provides an overview of the projects reported by Ultimate Recipients in 2016, and includes the results of the annual UBCM Gas Tax Audit (Appendix A), Recipient Specified Audit Procedure (Appendix B) and a detailed project list of all projects reported in 2016 (Appendix C). Photo Credits: City of Prince George, TransLink and the City of Nanaimo Published by the Union of BC Municipalities, November 2017 Page 7 of123 Gas Tax Fund in British Columbia Since 2005, the Federal Gas Tax Fund in British Columbia (GTF) has enabled local 2016 Gas Tax Reporting governments to undertake a broad range of infrastructure and planning projects by providing dedicated, predictable, and long-term funding. Between 2005-2013 recipients $269.7 million in GTF Expended by of Gas Tax funds utilized $829.7 million to undertake 2,399 projects. Under the 2014 Recipients Agreement, over $663 million has been expended on 1,592 projects. Combined, these 896 Gas Tax Projects Funded total over $1.4 billion in Gas Tax funding expended by local governments supporting 503 Complete Projects 3,729 infrastructure and capacity building projects identified across British Columbia. Over the first 12-years of the Gas Tax Agreement, the rate of annual expenditure by 393 Continuing Projects recipients has grown at an average of 22%, while the overall number of projects has 522 New Projects grown at an annual average of 19%. In 2016, the Government of Canada transferred over $265 million through the GTF to British Columbia; this figure accounts for roughly one-fifth of the $1.3 billion that will be available to BC’s local governments over the first five years of the 2014-2024 Administrative Agreement on the Federal Gas Tax Fund in British Columbia (Agreement). Every project undertaken using Gas Tax funds Total Projects Gas Tax Funds supports at least one of the GTF’s national Investment Category program objectives. Projects focused on roads, 2014 2015 2016 2014 2015 2016 Roads, Bridges, Active and bridges encourage productivity and economic 20.75% 24.89% 25.22% 22.02% 24.12% 20.49% growth; active transportation and wastewater Transportation projects promote a cleaner environment while Cultural and Tourism 0.80% 3.10% 3.57% 0.28% 0.44% 1.28% cultural and recreation infrastructure Sports and Recreation 5.35% 14.22% 18.64% 2.02% 5.06% 8.43% improvements build stronger cities and Capacity Building 16.47% 13.88% 17.97% 3.62% 2.70% 2.32% communities. Drinking Water 16.60% 14.11% 9.60% 15.71% 7.76% 4.08% Wastewater 10.71% 8.94% 7.48% 16.34% 8.81% 8.33% Page 8 of123 Solid Waste 4.28% 3.21% 2.01% 4.72% 4.87% 0.86% Today, Gas Tax funds continue to support both Public Transit 4.28% 3.33% 3.24% 30.19% 43.01% 50.49% traditional and ‘green’ investments in areas such as water management, transportation works, and Community Energy 19.54% 12.50% 9.60% 4.80% 2.49% 2.93% community energy initiatives, (which account Other 1.20% 1.83% 2.68% 0.31% 0.74% 0.80% for almost 60% of projects in 2016), however, Fig. 1- Investment Category and Expenditure Percentages, 2014-2016 emerging investment categories such as sport, recreation, tourism and cultural infrastructure have all substantially increased investments in the past three years, and now account for 22% of reported projects and $25 million in annual Gas Tax funding (Fig. 1 & 3). This shift in investment is a result of the addition of ten investment categories made available to local governments upon the renewal of the Agreement. Gas Tax Program Streams 2016 Eligible Projects List In British Columbia, the Gas Tax Agreement is delivered to recipients by UBCM Brownfield Redevelopment through three program streams: the Community Works Fund; the Strategic Priorities Broadband Connectivity Fund; and the Greater Vancouver Regional Fund. UBCM administers the funds on Capacity Building behalf of Canada and British Columbia and reports annually to Canada on -Asset Management Planning expenditures and disbursements. -Long-Term Infrastructure Planning -Integrated Community Sustainability Planning Community Energy Systems Tourism and Cultural Infrastructure Gas Tax Fund Disaster Mitigation Local and Regional Airports $269.7 million* Drinking Water Local Roads, Bridges, and Active Transportation Greater Public Transit Community Works Strategic Priorities Vancouver Fund Fund** Sports and Recreation Infrastructure Regionalg Fund Short-sea Shipping and Short-line Rail $92.1 million* $44.2 million* $133.3 million* Solid Waste Wastewater * 2016 Gas Tax Expenditures Reported by Recipients, ** Includes SPF, RSP, IF Community Works Fund Fig. 2 – CWF Project Percentages by Investment Category The Community Works Fund (CWF) is available to all local governments in British Columbia. CWF is delivered twice annually and funding is based on a per capita Page 9 of123 formula with a funding floor for all recipients. Local governments make informed choices about which eligible projects to fund, and report annually on these projects and their outcomes. Over the first three years of the Agreement, CWF has helped fund 1865 projects and delivered investments of $343.6 million to local governments.