Regional Districts across B.C. will receive a share of $10-million in support from the Provincial Government to keep local services and operations running.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has changed all our lives and local governments are on the front line, which is why we have already delivered hundreds of millions directly to communities to support them through restart and recovery,” said Josie Osborne, Minister of Municipal Affairs. “We’ve partnered with communities to deliver the critical services people count on, and now we’re further boosting support to regional districts to make sure we continue to reach people in every corner of British Columbia.”
The Province said the safe restart funding is part of its work to ensure local governments have the tools they need to provide essential services to their communities.
All 27 regional districts will receive their share of the $10-million by the end of March.
“The COVID-19 Safe Restart Agreement is providing $540 million in direct support to B.C. local governments to help communities manage the impacts of the pandemic. The Province distributed $415 million in COVID-19 Safe Restart grants to all 188 local governments in B.C. in November 2020 to help with operating costs and respond to pressures caused by the pandemic,” said the B.C. Government.
Since then, B.C. said it has continued to provide support to local governments, including a $100-million program to support people experiencing homelessness, and a $15-million program to get housing built faster in communities throughout the province.