Strategic Context

External Factors

Increasingly Complex Environment

  • The Ministry of Community Services plays a central role in supporting the safety, health and livability of British Columbia's communities, which are affected by a complex array of global, national, inter-provincial, regional and local factors — ranging from currency fluctuations to changes in technology to impacts of, and responses to, global climate change.
  • These factors bring opportunities and challenges. The ministry works with its partners to build the capacity of British Columbia's communities to thrive in this complex, ever changing environment.

The Economy

  • British Columbia's real GDP grew by a solid 3.5 per cent in 2005, slightly faster than the 3.4 per cent growth rate forecast in the September Budget Update. Strong consumer spending and investment helped make B.C.'s growth the second fastest in the country, behind Alberta's 4.5 per cent expansion. B.C.'s economic growth was accompanied by a marked drop in the unemployment rate and strong labour income growth, supporting consumer spending and residential construction growth.2
  • A strong economy brings benefits for many communities and individuals but can result in challenges for others. For example, the fast pace of growth has contributed to increased construction costs and labour and material shortages, which have affected infrastructure projects funded by the ministry and its partners. Likewise, the strong housing market has exacerbated affordability issues for those with low and moderate incomes.

Diverse Communities

  • British Columbia's 157 municipalities and 27 regional districts serve populations ranging in size from 230 to over two million.3 These communities are diverse in capacity, size, needs, complexity, and socio-economic makeup.
  • This diversity challenges the ministry to provide flexible, efficient and effective legislation, policies and programs that enable local governments to address the unique needs of their citizens.
2  Statistics Canada, Provincial and Territorial Economic Accounts Review (2005 Preliminary Estimates), April 26, 2006. Cat. No. 13-016-XIE.
3  BC Stats, BC Regional District and Municipal Population Estimates, 1996-2005. March 2006.

Urban Communities

  • Large urban communities continue to face growth-related pressures, particularly as populations shift from rural to urban areas and as the province experiences both increased in-migration and immigration.
  • In 2005/06, most of British Columbia's urban population lived in an area covering less than three per cent of the province. Fifty-one per cent of residents lived in the Greater Vancouver Regional District, which only accounts for 1.5 per cent of the province's total area.4
  • An additional 1.3 million people are expected to live in B.C. by 2031, which will put additional pressure on existing infrastructure. Eighty per cent of B.C.'s forecasted population increase is expected to be in urban areas, mostly in high growth regions of the province (Lower Mainland, southeast coast of Vancouver Island and the Okanagan Valley).5
  • This creates pressure for more efficient, cost-effective infrastructure, such as transportation systems, as well as the infrastructure to provide clean drinking water and affordable and appropriate waste-water treatment. Infrastructure renewal creates financial pressures for local governments which traditionally rely on the relatively narrow financial base of property taxes and user fees to fund maintenance and capital expansion programs.
  • The ministry works to assist local governments to plan for and meet these needs efficiently and effectively, and to ensure local governments remain financially viable and economically sustainable. This requires collaboration with federal and local governments and other provincial ministries and agencies. Because of shared responsibilities with these many players, the ministry shares risks to success. To mitigate this risk, the ministry builds on its strong relationships with partners and stakeholders.
4, 5  Ministry of Community Services, Local Government Statistics and Facts, March 2006.

Rural Communities

  • Many rural communities that have traditionally depended on natural resource industries are working to strengthen and diversify their economies, and to plan for sustainable futures in the face of trade issues (e.g., softwood lumber dispute), epidemics (e.g., mountain pine beetle infestation), and the challenges of resource renewal (e.g., forestry, fisheries, mining).
  • In cases where a community's primary industry has closed, the ministry works with the local government, providing expertise and other supports during the transition.
  • In 2005/06, mill closures occurred in Port Alice and Prince Rupert. Cases such as these require extensive resources to address the issues related to uncertainty for resource-based communities.

Local Government Capacity

  • Strong partnerships and a legislative framework that empowers local governments create a solid base for addressing challenges posed by growth, infrastructure renewal and other changing local and regional conditions in B.C. communities. Partners, such as the Union of BC Municipalities and the Local Government Management Association, are key to the ministry achieving its goal of strong, safe and healthy communities.
  • Local governments, which are closest to their citizens, have an increasing role in resolving social, economic and environmental issues in their communities, such as planning to address the needs of a growing seniors population. The ministry has worked to develop opportunities to provide, in partnership with others, financial and other supports to local governments to address local issues. The New Deal is one example. Traffic Fine Revenue Sharing, the BC Water Improvement Program and the new Transit Agreement are other examples of where the ministry has had success.

Local Emergencies

  • Local governments play a key role in managing emergencies such as fires, floods, droughts, landslides and West Nile virus. These emergencies require preparation, planning and intensive resources, should they occur.
  • While no major emergencies materialized in 2005/06, the ministry supported local governments in preparing contingencies for such emergencies.

Federal Election

  • The federal election in 2005/06 brought some uncertainty for the ministry's federal/provincial and tripartite programs. Because these are shared responsibilities, the risk was that funding negotiations and arrangements could be impacted by a shift in federal priorities, impacting the ministry's ability to achieve its service plan goals and objectives. Both the New Deal for Cities and Communities and the associated Transit Agreement have been signed, and both have confirmed funding.

Violence Against Women

  • From 1999 to 2004, rates of self-reported violence against women have remained relatively unchanged. Western Canada led the provinces, with 10 per cent of Alberta women reporting violence, and Saskatchewan and B.C. with nine per cent.5
  • According to spousal homicide rates, the average number of spousal homicides per 100,000 couples for the period 1974 to 2000 was 0.46 for men and 1.28 for women.6
  • Addressing violence against women is a shared responsibility. As the lead provincial agency responsible for women's issues, the ministry will continue to fund key services such as transition houses, counselling and outreach programs, as well as community based prevention initiatives.
5  Statistics Canada. Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile 2005.
6  Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers Responsible for the Status of Women. Assessing Violence Against Women: A Statistical Profile. 2002.

Women and the Economy

  • Women comprise 50 per cent of British Columbia's population, 57 per cent of university enrollment7 and 47 per cent of the paid workforce.8 Despite recent gains, women's weekly wage rate is on average only 79 per cent of men's weekly wage rate (full-time employees).9
  • The ministry focuses on working with other ministries, agencies, the federal government and provinces to identify, and provide information on, the issues affecting women to government, communities and the public.
  • In 2005/06, the ministry began a pilot mentoring program to address challenges faced by women starting or changing careers, particularly due to lack of experience and training, an absence from the labour market or being new to Canada.
7  The University President's Council of British Columbia, Headcount Distribution by Gender, Feb. 2005.
8, 9  Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, extract from File Cd3T01.an.ivt, 2005.

Internal Factors

Shared Responsibility

  • The ministry shares responsibility for achieving many of its goals and objectives. With shared responsibility, there is shared risk to achieving success. To mitigate this risk, the ministry fosters strong relationships with its many stakeholders and builds on its previous experiences, such as its successful partnerships with the Union of BC Municipalities, with federal and local governments, with Federal/Provincial/Territorial forums, and with private and non-profit sectors.

Change in Ministry Organization

  • The ministry was reorganized in June 2005. As a result, several areas of business are no longer a part of the ministry, including: multiculturalism, immigration, the Aboriginal directorate, housing, building and safety policy, heritage, public library services and the Office of the Fire Commissioner. The ministry had been building internal relationships among these areas to further government's and the ministry's goals. The ministry can now focus on a more limited area of business while building on those relationships and its experiences in intra- and inter-ministry collaboration.

New Responsibilities

  • New initiatives and areas of business such as the Premier's Task Force on Community Opportunities, the Competition Council, the New Deal for Cities and Communities and the Premier's Council on Aging and Seniors' Issues bring opportunities for positive change but also potential unknowns and requirements for additional resources. The ministry mitigates this risk by being proactive, by building relationships and strengthening partnerships, and by working to anticipate the future need for change.

Five Great Goals

The ministry's priorities support Government's Five Great Goals:

  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, those with 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 has contributed significantly to Great Goal Four of leading the world in sustainable environmental management. In 2005/06, it negotiated with the federal government a New Deal for Cities and Communities, which will be delivered in partnership with the Union of BC Municipalities. This agreement provides $635.5 million in federal gas tax transfers over five years to communities throughout the province. The program will support environmental objectives through infrastructure investments for 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 contribute to Great Goal Two of leading the way in North America in healthy living and physical fitness and Great Goal Three of building the best system of support for persons with disabilities, those with special needs, children at risk, and seniors. These include domestic violence prevention and intervention services, such as transition houses and safe homes, community-based prevention projects, and counselling programs for women, and their children, who have experienced abuse. The ministry also supports the Premier's Council on Aging and Seniors' Issues.

Finally, the ministry worked with communities to initiate, develop and implement new urban development agreements to coordinate the work of federal, provincial and local governments to create healthy, safe and sustainable inner cities. This contributes to Great Goal Five of creating more jobs per capita than anywhere else in Canada. The ministry's BladeRunners program which gives at-risk youth the opportunity to enter the construction industry, also directly supports this goal, as do the ministry's new mentoring program for women and strategies to support communities in transition.

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