The Village of Pouce Coupe is pushing the BC Government on property rights, transparency and taxes.
The Village submitted three resolutions to the North Central Local Government association and the Union of B.C. Municipalities.
Two focus on land and governance, while the third one calls for more transparency from the province during indigenous land title negotiations.
The Village is asking the NDP Government to clearly affirm the security of private property rights. Village officials say uncertainty around land ownership could affect investment and long-term planning.
The Village is demanding that the Province affirm and uphold the security of private fee simple title and private property rights for landowners in British Columbia. Recent court rulings and negotiated agreements have created uncertainty about the nature of fee simple title in British Columbia.
Village officials say that at the same time, local governments are not consistently informed of negotiations that may affect relationships with neighbouring Indigenous nations as well as land use planning and long-term investment within their communities.
The third resolution targets provincial sales tax changes and asks the province to exempt local governments from new PST costs on services like engineering and architecture.
Mayor Danielle Veach said “Recent expansions of the PST represent a cost shift within the public sector that increases project costs for Pouce Coupe without improving service outcomes. These changes place additional strain on local government budgets and, ultimately, taxpayers.”