Thank you, Mayor Daykin.
Good morning, Chair, vice-chairs, and committee members.
I appreciate having the opportunity to appear before you this morning. My name is Gary MacIsaac. I'm the executive director of the Union of B.C. Municipalities, or UBCM. Metro Vancouver is an active UBCM member and, as you just heard, a provider of regional services, including drinking water and wastewater treatment. I am pleased to be here on behalf of the UBCM First Nations Relations Committee to speak in support of Metro Vancouver's position and concerns on Bill S-8, and I hope to provide additional provincial context on this matter.
The First Nations Relations Committee members, unfortunately, could not make the trip due to prior community commitments, and they send their regrets.
UBCM is a member-driven organization, with 100% local government membership in British Columbia. In addition to its 188 local government members, UBCM also represents six self-governing first nations members. UBCM's First Nations Relations Committee oversees all organizational policy development work related to first nations issues, including treaty negotiations, negotiations outside the treaty process, and governance reform. The committee's other key role is to focus on relationship-building between first nations and local governments through best practices and other initiatives.
With that brief overview, I would like to turn to Bill S-8. First and foremost, I acknowledge the real and substantial need for development of federal regulations governing the provision of drinking water, water quality standards, and the disposal of waste water in first nation communities. Access to clean drinking water is a basic need that must be provided as expeditiously as possible.
But as Mayor Daykin outlined, this bill has the potential to impact local government operations extensively, not only in the Metro Vancouver region, but across British Columbia and the nation. Yet it would appear that local government consultation was not sought in the development of this legislation. Early, meaningful consultation with local government not only allows potentially impacted local governments to raise concerns around issues such as service agreement and regulatory considerations, legislative and jurisdictional uncertainties, and potential financial and capacity implications, but it also allows for a mutually beneficial identification of issues at an early stage in the process. Local governments do not aim to obstruct the provision of necessary services; welcoming early and ongoing local government participation provides an appropriate forum for discussion and concern resolution.
The established role of local governments in aboriginal affairs has been recognized in agreements between UBCM and senior levels of government. This includes a memorandum of understanding with the Province of British Columbia on local government participation in the new relationship with first nations, which was renewed in 2012. Under this agreement, local government representatives serve as respected advisers to the province in treaty negotiations that affect their interests, and the province is committed to initiating contact with a local government when the outcome of negotiations will affect the local government's jurisdiction, operations, or provision of services. As a result of the 2005 new relationship vision document, this MOU was expanded to include consultation and information exchange with local governments on other agreements outside the B.C. treaty process, and on matters of mutual interest, including those that will have a significant impact on local government jurisdiction.
A MOU on communication and information-sharing between UBCM and the former INAC was renewed four times, and most recently in 2007—with the former INAC, now AANDC, indicating its interest in renewing the agreement in 2009. This agreement set out to improve communication and strengthen working relationships between INAC and UBCM, building on issues of common interest. In our view, this goal is critical not only to the local governments that provide on-the-ground services to first nations, but it also benefits senior government in the successful implementation of legislative initiatives.
With the importance of local government consultation in mind, Minister Valcourt's recent response to UBCM's letter expressing concerns about Bill S-8 was quite heartening. In it, Minister Valcourt indicated that Bill S-8 is an enabling bill that, if passed, would allow the Government of Canada to work with first nations and other stakeholders to develop regulations on a region-by-region basis, and that local governments are welcome to participate in the process, where appropriate. We appreciate the assurance that local government input will be sought, and look forward to participating accordingly.
At the core of concerns around Bill S-8 are broader concerns around local government exposure to liability as a result of the existing regulatory gap. As you know, reserve lands are exclusively federal lands and jurisdiction, outside of local government regulatory and taxation authority. Yet reserve lands are included within local government boundaries. There is an inability for local governments to regulate utility services on reserve lands, and without effective regulatory tools, local governments are exposed to financial, environmental, and public health liability if a problem arises with the local government service provided to those lands.
As Mayor Daykin previously outlined, these concerns relate to the potential conferring of service provision provided for under subclause 5(1) of Bill S-8 and to other service agreements that local governments develop in good faith with first nations. There's a real and pressing need for provincial and federal governments in collaboration with local government and first nations to develop effective legislative tools to reduce local government exposure to financial, environmental, and public health liability.
In addressing the concerns raised today by Metro Vancouver, there is also an opportunity to examine underlying regulatory issues more thoroughly.
I appreciate your time today, and we look forward to participating in the development of regulations and implementation plan pursuant to Bill S-8 as appropriate. We hope that today's presentation has aided in opening communications regarding Bill S-8 as well as ongoing and future matters of mutual concern. Both Mayor Daykin and I welcome your questions.