Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Results

Overview

Ministry Goals

1. Community governance is open, effective and accountable to its citizens.
2. British Columbians live in resilient, sustainable communities.
3. Communities effectively meet the social and economic needs of their citizens.
4. Women are safe from domestic violence.
5. Women have the opportunity to reach their economic potential.
6. Improved social and economic well-being for seniors.

Linkage to the Five Great Goals for a Golden Decade

The Provincial Government’s five Great Goals for a Golden Decade are:

1. Make British Columbia the best educated, most literate jurisdiction on the continent.
2. Lead the way in North America in healthy living and physical fitness.
3. Build the best system of support in Canada for persons with disabilities, special needs, children at risk, and seniors.
4. Lead the world in sustainable environmental management, with the best air and water quality, and the best fisheries management — bar none.
5. Create more jobs per capita than anywhere else in Canada.

The Ministry of Community Services contributes most significantly to the Government’s goal to lead the world in sustainable environmental management. The ministry is working with the Union of BC Municipalities to implement the New Deal for Cities and Communities, which provides $635 million in federal gas tax transfers, over five years, to communities throughout the province. The program will support environmental objectives through infrastructure investments which support cleaner drinking water, cleaner air, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The ministry also supports urban planning, including regional growth strategies and infrastructure grants for water and sewers, to ensure that communities have the capacity to grow in ways that are environmentally sustainable.

The ministry has a number of programs and initiatives that support the goal of building the best system of support for persons with disabilities, special needs, children at risk, and seniors. The ministry is responsible for domestic violence prevention and intervention services which include: transition houses and safe homes, community-based prevention projects, and counselling programs for women and their children who have experienced domestic violence. The ministry also supports the Premier’s Council on Aging and Seniors’ Issues, which will make recommendations in late 2006 on the types of supports and services seniors need to continue being active, healthy participants in society.

Finally, the ministry is interested in assisting communities to develop new Urban Development Agreements to coordinate the work of the federal, provincial, and local governments to create healthy, safe, and sustainable inner-cities. This contributes to the Government’s goal of creating more jobs per capita than anywhere else in Canada. The BladeRunners program, a ministry-funded program that gives at-risk youth the opportunity to enter the construction industry, also directly supports great goal five, as do the ministry’s mentoring program and strategies to support communities in transition.

Cross Ministry Initiatives

The Ministry of Community Services plays a supporting role with regard to the following cross ministry priorities and action plans:

2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

• The ministry is engaged with partner ministries to contribute to the implementation of the 2010 Winter Games Inner-City Inclusive Commitments, which are intended to maximize opportunities and mitigate potential impacts of the Olympics on Vancouver’s inner city neighbourhoods. There are 37 commitments relating to employment, economic development, housing, recreation, and culture.
• The BladeRunners program is consistent with the Inner-City Inclusive Commitments. It gives at-risk youth the opportunity to enter the construction industry.

Crystal Meth

• The ministry has provided $2 million to the Union of BC Municipalities to help address the issue of crystal meth at the community level. It also supports the inter-ministry committee on crystal meth.

StrongStart (Children’s Agenda)

• The ministry supports the Government’s Children’s Agenda through its counselling program for children who witness abuse. This program has an annual budget of $4.6 million, and provides almost 2,000 counselling or support sessions to children and their caregivers each year.

First Nations

• The Local Government–First Nations Relations Program actively supports and facilitates the development of constructive relationships between local governments and First Nations, through such initiatives as the Joint UBCM/First Nations Summit Community-to-Community Forum.
• The ministry also supports violence prevention initiatives for Aboriginal women. For example, it provides funding to several Aboriginal women’s organizations to address health and safety issues. It also funds a sexual assault centre for Aboriginal women.
• On average, 82 per cent of the participants in the BladeRunners program, which assists at-risk youth to enter the construction trades, are of Aboriginal descent.

Mountain Pine Beetle

• Through its Community Transition Program, the ministry works with local governments and provincial agencies to provide expertise and support to rural and resource communities in transition. It will be actively involved in supporting communities as they adjust to the impact of the mountain pine beetle infestation.

Asia-Pacific Strategy

• The ministry will support the Government’s work to build closer ties with Asia-Pacific nations, by developing sister-city relationships between communities in British Columbia and those in India and China.

Regulatory Reform

• See Related Planning Processes (page 30).

Performance Plan

Local government is the order of government closest to citizens. It delivers basic services that people count on every day, including: water and sewer infrastructure, policing, fire protection, local roads, recreation, and community planning. The Provincial Government supports local governments by broadly empowering them to serve their residents effectively through local government legislation, which includes sufficient checks and balances to ensure that local decision-making is open and provides appropriate opportunities for ongoing citizen involvement.

A representative local government system in which citizens choose their form of governance and the services they receive is consistent with democratic principles.

In 2003, the Province introduced the Community Charter (Charter) — a modern legislative framework for municipalities, increasing their autonomy and accountability and allowing them to respond more effectively to their citizens’ needs. With the Charter’s implementation, British Columbia’s relationship with local governments has changed. Rather than focusing on provincial oversight and prescriptive regulation, it now emphasizes local accountability, with the Province acting in an advisory and facilitative capacity.

Strategies:

1. Promote citizens’ access to local governments and build their capacity to participate in local decision-making: Local governments can be more responsive to community needs when citizens participate actively in the local government system and make use of legislated opportunities for input into local government decision-making.
2. Assist local governments with incorporations, amalgamations, and boundary extensions: Municipal incorporations, boundary extensions, and amalgamations can improve local autonomy for citizens who previously lived in unincorporated areas. They also provide for simpler access to services and more focused citizen representation within the broader community.

To meet the changing needs of their communities, local governments in British Columbia require a modern legislative, regulatory, and policy framework that strikes an appropriate balance between broad powers and accountability. The ministry has developed this framework through the Community Charter and provides local governments with expert advice, problem-solving expertise, and best practices tools to guide them in exercising their broad authority.

Strategies:

1. Provide a modern, empowering legislative, regulatory, and policy framework: The provincial framework supports greater local government accountability and gives communities sufficient legislative and regulatory flexibility to address the changing needs of their citizens.
2. Support innovation and the effective use of legislative and regulatory powers: Fostering local governments’ innovation builds their capacity to use their broad powers, provide services efficiently, and govern their communities effectively.
3. Facilitate constructive relationships: Building strong, positive, long-term relationships among local governments, and between local governments and First Nations, is essential to ensure that all parties work together on matters of mutual interest.
4. Develop strong, mutually beneficial partnerships: Strong, mutually beneficial partnerships among local governments, the federal government, the Union of BC Municipalities, and the Province of British Columbia ensure an inclusive and coordinated approach to local, regional, and provincial issues.

Performance Measures for Goal 1:

Percentage of municipalities operating within their liability servicing limit: Local governments in British Columbia borrow money (e.g., for infrastructure investments) through the Municipal Finance Authority. The ministry acts as the equivalent of a bank branch manager, approving local governments’ loans on the basis of their fiscal capacity. The liability servicing limit is a key measure of this capacity. It sets out the maximum amount municipalities can spend to service their financial obligations for the year. Measuring the percentage of municipalities operating within this limit demonstrates how well local governments financially plan for their capital requirements, and how well they utilize the different financing options available to them.

1	Liability servicing limit is equal to 25 per cent of annual own-source municipal revenue. Own-source revenue primarily includes taxes, fees, charges, penalties, fines and investment income.
2	Based on a two-year average from 2003/04 to 2004/05.

Resilient, sustainable communities are places where citizens can lead healthy, fulfilling, economically secure lives without compromising the social, economic, and environmental needs of future generations.

The ministry provides the legislative, regulatory, and policy framework that enables local governments to plan for the long-term sustainability of their communities. The ministry also develops and administers funding programs for infrastructure projects that enhance the quality of the environment and protect human health.

The development of long-term, forward-looking regional strategies equips local governments to plan for, and adjust to, the challenges presented by the demographic changes taking place in their communities.

Local governments are responsible for providing their citizens with safe drinking water and appropriate levels of waste water treatment. Such infrastructure systems can be costly. Major projects often challenge the financial capacity of both large and small local governments. Funding from the provincial and federal governments furthers the Province’s efforts to realize improved drinking water quality, and to enhance protection of the environment across British Columbia.

Strategies:

1. Develop, implement, and manage the water and sewer infrastructure capital funding and infrastructure planning programs: Providing sustainable water and sewer infrastructure can be financially challenging for local governments. Funding from the Province ensures that British Columbians benefit from safe, reliable, and accessible drinking water and improved waste water systems.
2. Implement the New Deal for Cities and Communities, with the Union of BC Municipalities, to incorporate integrated sustainable planning practices into local government activities: Integrated sustainable planning practices ensure that local government infrastructure projects are aligned with federal and provincial objectives for environmental sustainability.
3. Work with local governments to develop forward-looking regional strategies: Coordination among municipalities and regional districts on inter-jurisdictional issues promotes integrated approaches to addressing the changing social, economic, environmental, and demographic conditions within British Columbia communities.
4. Negotiate federal/provincial/local government infrastructure capital grant programs: Working with federal, provincial, and local government partners to provide effective and efficient funding programs that benefit British Columbians ensures that future capital grant programs reflect provincial and local government priorities and objectives.

Regional and local conditions are constantly changing. The ministry contributes its expertise and targeted funding initiatives to build local government resiliency and capacity to adapt to changing economic, social, and environmental conditions. Across government, the ministry coordinates and leads responses to issues faced by communities in transition. The ministry also plays a leadership role in monitoring and maintaining the strength and integrity of the local government finance system, recognizing that strong, financially stable local governments have the capability to respond to unforeseen changes in the economic, social, or environmental health of their communities.

Strategies:

1. Collaborate with local governments and provincial agencies to provide expertise and other support to rural and resource communities in transition: This support and expertise will help rural communities that traditionally depended on natural resource industries to be resilient, and successfully adapt to changing economic conditions.
2. Ensure that local governments have the fiscal capacity needed for self government: This work is supported through the Small Community Protection Grants and Regional District Basic Grants initiatives, which equip smaller communities to provide effective self-government to their citizens.
3. Promote targeted support for policing, crime prevention, and community safety: Traffic Fine Revenue is returned to those communities responsible for policing to support them in financing policing, crime prevention, and community safety.

Performance Measures for Goal 2:

Number and percentage of British Columbians served by drinking water systems that meet emerging treatment standards for the protection of drinking water quality: This measure indicates the number of British Columbians who have access to drinking water that comes from a reliable source and is treated to a level consistent with emerging water quality standards. These standards are applicable to both surface water and groundwater sources. The measure demonstrates the ministry’s commitment to enhancing the quality of drinking water in communities throughout British Columbia. The significant increase in population served, anticipated in 2006/07, is due to the completion of the Greater Vancouver Regional District water treatment plant, which will service approximately 50 per cent of the provincial population. Subsequent population targets reflect the number of BC Community Water Infrastructure projects expected to come online over the three-year life cycle of the program.

Number of municipalities collecting at least 90 per cent of their current year taxes: Taxes comprise the majority of municipalities’ annual revenue and provide the financial capacity they need to operate effectively, and respond to unforeseen situations as they arise. Tracking the number of municipalities collecting at least 90 per cent of their current taxes measures the robustness of local tax bases and generally serves as an early indicator of broader economic challenges, since non-payment of a substantial amount (i.e., 10 per cent or more) of local taxes may indicate economic weakness within the community. The targets are based on anticipated future improvements resulting from the ministry’s concerted efforts to assist communities, many of which are resource-based, to address their current economic challenges.

1	Current as of December 2005.
2	This represents 89% of municipalities in British Columbia and is based on a three-year average from 2002/03 to 2004/05.

The social and economic needs of British Columbians vary significantly from community to community. Productive and cooperative working relationships among federal, provincial, and local governments, businesses, and community organizations will help to identify and address these needs, supporting strong, healthy, and economically vibrant communities.

British Columbia’s regions are diverse in size, geography, demographics, and socio-economic status. Given this diversity, it is clear that many different and targeted approaches are required to ensure the economic strength of all regions. This requires cooperation among federal, provincial, and local governments to best meet citizens’ needs throughout British Columbia.

Strategies:

1. Identify strategies to strengthen regional governance: Strengthen the capacity of British Columbia communities to work together to provide cost-effective services to citizens and build strong, growing regional economies based on the unique strength of each region.
2. Promote harmonization of regulatory requirements: Harmonizing local government and provincial approval processes to improve the competitive nature of British Columbia’s economy.

Cooperation among the three orders of government, businesses, community agencies, and communities is critical to addressing inner-city issues such as: poverty, homelessness, unemployment, public safety, addiction, other health issues, and economic revitalization. These issues and challenges have taken decades to become established and require a long term approach in order to make significant changes.

Urban development agreements are one tool to further the creation of vibrant inner-city communities. A number of communities have expressed interest in working with governments and other partners through a tri-partite urban development process.

Strategies:

1. Ensure collaboration among partners to address inner-city issues: These partnerships will provide a larger pool of resources and tools to address inner-city issues. Involvement of the private sector, community partners, and government is essential due to the interdependence of community vitality and business success.
2. Support the implementation of the 2010 Winter Games Inner-City Inclusive Commitments: Working with partners, the ministry will support the implementation of the Inner-City Inclusive Commitment Statement. This will help to ensure that Vancouver’s inner-city residents have opportunities to benefit from the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
3. Facilitate employment for at-risk youth: Employing at-risk youth helps to address some of the inner-city issues such as unemployment, homelessness, and addictions. The BladeRunners Program is a work-based training program, which trains youth for construction jobs and provides ongoing support to ensure that participants have acquired marketable skills through training and on-the-job integration, which in turn enhances their long-term employment prospects.

Performance Measures for Goal 3:

Number of new Urban Development Agreements: Urban Development Agreements can be a first step towards addressing inner-city issues. They contribute to healthy and safe inner cities by coordinating the work of governments and community agencies to address social, health, and economic issues.

Number of BladeRunners participants employed: BladeRunners supports at-risk youth to enter the construction trades and increase their self-reliance, making a positive contribution to the social and economic health of their communities. The number of BladeRunners participants moving into employment is a measure of the program’s success. The increase in participants in 2006/07 reflects a plan to expand the program.

1	This represents 76 per cent of participants in the program, based on a two-year average from 2003/04 to 2004/05.
2	Represents 75 per cent of program participants, post the proposed program expansion to 180 participants a year.

Women are more likely than men to be victims of violence committed by someone they know, such as a partner, spouse, acquaintance, relative, or ex-spouse. Domestic violence has a very high personal and economic cost, causes serious health and social problems, and places a heavy burden on those who experience or witness it. Supporting communities to prevent domestic violence and develop educational information is one way to make communities safer for women.

The ministry supports community capacity-building to prevent and respond to domestic violence. This includes providing safe places for women who have experienced violence, as well as working with communities to provide information and prevention strategies with the goal of eliminating domestic violence. Educational resources, publications, and awareness campaigns help parents, teachers, and the public stop the cycle of violence in the home and community, and shape a safer future for women in British Columbia.

Strategies:

1. Provide shelter to women and their children leaving abusive relationships: Transition houses, safe homes, and second-stage housing provide safe places for women and their children leaving abusive relationships.
2. Provide counselling to women who have experienced domestic violence and their children: The ministry funds counselling for women who have experienced abuse and children who have witnessed abuse, to help them rebuild their lives and reach their full potential.
3. Reach out to women at risk: The ministry funds outreach workers through third party contracts to support women at risk of, or recovering from, domestic violence. These workers connect women to the programs and services they need to live safely in their homes and communities. The ministry also supports community-level violence prevention initiatives.

Performance Measures for Goal 4:

Community capacity to respond to women and their children leaving abusive relationships: The number of women and their children sheltered through transition house services is an important indicator of communities’ capacity to respond to domestic violence.

Number of women who received outreach services: This measure is an indicator of communities’ ability to connect women to the programs and services they need to live safely in their homes and communities. It includes the number of women and children who are assisted with a service or accompanied to an appointment, and the number of unscheduled counselling/support and crisis calls.

1	Represents a three-year average, from 2002/03 to 2004/05.
2	Increase due to a one-time increase in funding.
3	Represents 2004/05, the first year in which the program was running.

Providing women with opportunities to reach their highest economic potential benefits women as well as society. For many women it is the road to financial independence and self-reliance. Ensuring that women have opportunities to participate in the economy and take advantage of career opportunities is essential for economically sustainable communities.

The ministry is committed to promoting and supporting women’s participation in the economy in British Columbia. Working with other ministries, provinces, the federal government, non-governmental organizations, and communities, the ministry strives to ensure that the unique needs of women are addressed and integrated into public policy, legislation, programs, and services. The ministry identifies and communicates emerging trends and key issues affecting women to government (and the public), to inform policy development, program direction, and decision-making that affects women.

Strategies:

1. Design and implement a mentoring program for women entering or re-entering the paid labour force: The mentoring program will assist women to identify options and explore opportunities to enter the labour force for the first time, or to re-enter it after a long absence. This will increase women’s involvement in British Columbia’s paid economy.

Performance Measures for Goal 5:

Number of women employed after participating in the mentoring program: This measure will reflect how successfully the program supports women to participate in the paid economy.

The ministry supports initiatives designed to ensure seniors have enhanced opportunities to participate in community life and improve their well-being. The ministry provides leadership and builds relationships, and collaborates with and informs other ministries, local, provincial, and federal governments, private sector stakeholders, and community groups about issues affecting seniors. Success in this area depends on the efforts of these many partners and will be further informed by the recommendations of the Premier’s Council on Aging and Seniors’ Issues.

In the fall of 2005, the Premier’s Council on Aging and Seniors’ Issues began examining the needs of British Columbia’s growing seniors' population. The Council will make recommendations in 2006 on the types of supports and services seniors need to continue being active, healthy participants in society. It will review demographic and socio-economic changes, project an outlook to 2020, and identify pressing needs and opportunities to improve seniors’ independence and quality of living.

Strategy:

1. Lead and coordinate government support for the Premier’s Council on Aging and Seniors’ Issues: The ministry coordinates and works with staff in other ministries to provide support to the Premier’s Council on Aging and Seniors’ Issues as it examines topics such as health, housing, retirement, and quality of life.

Understanding the unique needs of an aging population is critical to preparing communities to address issues in areas such as transportation and health care, and to ensure that seniors have access to information about government programs and services.

Strategies:

1. Build awareness and understanding of issues related to planning for an aging population: This work will help ensure that all levels of government are prepared to respond to changing needs in areas such as housing, health care, and transportation.
2. Provide seniors with access to information: Greater access to information enhances seniors’ opportunities to connect with the programs and services they need to continue being active, healthy participants in society.

Performance Measures for Goal 5:

Number of seniors calling the 1-800 Seniors Information Line per month: This measure shows that the information line is being used by British Columbians.

Number of Seniors’ Guides distributed: The ministry produces the Seniors’ Guide which provides valuable information for seniors and their families. The guide has been very well received and the ministry will continue to produce the guide and track its distribution. This measure shows that the ministry is providing a useful resource for seniors.

Number of visits per year to the Seniors’ website: The ministry will continue to provide information via the Internet to facilitate access to government programs and services for seniors, and their families. The number of people accessing the website is a measure of the usefulness of this initiative.

1	Represents the average number of calls per month to the 1-800 Seniors Information Line from its inception in March 2005 to October 2005. Complete 2005/06 data is not available at the time of publication.
2	Future targets will be set based on an analysis of the data from 2005/06 and 2006/07.
3	60,000 Seniors’ Guides were produced in 2005. All of these guides were distributed.
4	Future targets will be set based on analysis of the data from 2006/07.
5	Represents the number of visits in 2005. Data before 2005 is not available.

Ministry Performance Plan Summary Table