At UBCM, Cities Are Putting Secrecy and Funding Cuts in Writing

The UBCM convention has handed Premier David Eby a direct local-government accountability problem. West Coast Current reports that B.C. municipal representatives gathered in Vancouver from September 14 to 18 with three special resolutions aimed at provincial secrecy and funding cuts.

The first issue is trust. The report says UBCM president Cori Ramsay warned that municipal staff are increasingly asked to sign non-disclosure agreements before routine provincial discussions, in some cases before they know what the meeting is about. The resolution asks Victoria to limit NDAs to exceptional circumstances.

That should not be controversial. Cities and regional districts are public governments, not private contractors. If the province needs confidentiality for a narrow file, it can explain why. If secrecy is becoming a default condition for intergovernmental work, taxpayers deserve to know who is being silenced, for what purpose and for how long.

The second issue is housing money. UBCM said after Budget 2026 that the province was reallocating $1.4 billion from its housing strategy and that part of the shift came from closing the Community Housing Fund indefinitely. UBCM warned the retroactive closure could strand projects and pre-development spending.

West Coast Current reports local governments are challenging the cancellation of $775 million from the Community Housing Fund, affecting 89 communities. The report cites Parksville and Squamish as examples where about $1 million had already been spent before the decision. Those are not abstract budget lines. They are local planning costs, staff time and housing expectations pushed back onto communities.

The third issue is wildfire prevention. UBCM’s September 15 FireSmart update says the program has funded mitigation across B.C. since 2018, with the province contributing nearly $175 million. But UBCM also said dwindling funds forced the program from an open intake to a closed intake earlier in 2026, while local governments continued asking for sustainable funding.

A later intake is welcome, but it does not answer the core planning problem. Wildfire prevention cannot be managed as a stop-start scramble. Communities need predictable funding to thin fuel, harden neighbourhoods, support staff capacity and keep work moving before smoke and evacuation orders arrive.

Eby’s government likes to describe its relationship with local governments as partnership. UBCM’s agenda shows the other side of that word: partners need timely information, stable funding and the ability to speak openly. When housing projects are stranded, FireSmart funding becomes uncertain and routine meetings come with gag orders, the province should not treat municipal frustration as background noise.

The test now is simple. Victoria should release a clear NDA policy, publish the housing-project impact list, explain what happened to communities that spent money in good faith, and provide a durable FireSmart funding plan. Local governments have put the concerns in writing. The premier should answer them the same way.