UBCM

By Cheryl Jahn

UBCM Underway

Record number of resolutions at UBCM

Sep 23, 2019 | 3:33 PM

VANCOUVER – The Union of BC Municipalities convention is underway in Vancouver this week. The UBCM is the voice of local government and advocates to the different levels of government on certain issues.

This year, the North Centre Local Government Association, which represents more than 40 northern BC communities, has endorsed a resolution that reads:

Whereas in May 2018 the BC Emergency Health Services introduced a new dispatch protocol for pre-hospital care, where first responders such are fire departments are requested only for the most urgent events or for events where an ambulance will take more than 10 minutes to respond, and this has raised concerns from local governments regarding access to emergency services in their communities;

And whereas communities in BC are diverse and require solutions that consider local capacity and local emergency health care needs;

Therefore be it resolved that the Ministry of Health, BCEHS and BC local governments work together to implement a co-ordinated approach to pre-hospital care, consistent with the recommendations in the February 2019 Auditor General Report on Access to Emergency Health Services, to:

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• create signed agreements outlining the roles and responsibilities of fire departments based on local need; and

• to confirm that first responders are being notified of events where they can best contribute to patient care.

Second Vice President of the UBCM, Brian Frenkel cites an example from his home community. “In Vanderhoof, we had an incident inside of a business where it was unfortunate in that a lady went down and had seizures,” he recounts. “This business is only 150 metres from the Ambulance Station and it took them an hour to get that ambulance to where this person was. Meanwhile, you’ve got great people in this business taking care of this person.” And he says that’s in Vanderhoof. He suspects the situation is even direr in remoter communities.

The City of Prince George has submitted four resolutions, a break from tradition. They touch on the need for community consultation around decisions under the Species at Risk around Southern Mountain Caribou, clean up of needles and harm reduction paraphernalia, revenue-sharing for proceeds of crime and a timeline for the installation of broadband internet in the North.

There are 274 resolutions this year, which is a record for the event.