Our version of Sustainability

February 14th to 16th in Canada's capital city of Ottawa municipal leaders from around the country gathered to discuss the latest successes and challenges of municipal sustainability. The sessions covered sustainable planning, climate change activities, local sustainability initiatives, Sustainable transportation, transforming brownfields and water management. These sessions were very well attended and contained many councillors and experts from around the country. The many examples of communities striving for sustainability provided an inspiration for other.

As the 'sustainability arm' of MNL the I was present along with President Letto to study the examples from around the country and determine what might work here in Newfoundland and Labrador. Once the sessions and discussions began it was obvious that the majority of attendees were using the environmental definition of sustainability. Delegates were surprised to here of the capacity issues that we face in NL and that for our communities we use a very broad definition of sustainability that almost equates to survival. This of course includes an environmental component but has a broad focus of long term community sustainability. While there were delegates present from rural areas of other provinces the vast majority of people were from municipalities that would be considered very urban in the NL perspective. Even the national definition of rural is considerably different from our own. All this means is that we have to work all that much harder to find the appropriate examples or to adapt the more urban initiatives to suit our situation.

To highlight the importance of municipal sustainability there was speaking time allotted to the National leaders of the Green party, the New Democratic Party, The Liberal Party and the Bloc Quebecois along with the Federal Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. Each of these leaders along with other keynote speakers focused on the need for sustainable development and leadership at the municipal level. As with many important issues the sustainable movement is coming from the grassroots level and it's the role of municipalities to manage this development with future generations in mind.

Cooperation News

Taken with permission from the Town of South River's January newsletter:

…Regional Services
A new board, The Bay-de-Grave Regional Municipal Services Corporation, has been formed to begin handling the demands of our growing towns, and to help us work cooperatively on issues such as fire protection. This is the first service which the RMSC has been mandated to provide. Plans to construct a brand new fire station are being finalized, with an agreement having been reached on a parcel of land at the top of Foley’s Hill. If matters proceed as planned, construction could begin as early as this spring.

Over time, the RMSC will develop into a more comprehensive service provider, with the potential to provide snow-clearing services, waterworks maintenance, garbage collection, and animal control, among other services. Regionalization is a great way to foster mutually beneficial relations between towns, and to ease the burden that small towns bear to provide big-town services.

This is the kind of cooperative efforts that can save money and enhance the sustainability of our rural communities. If you have any stories like this please let us know at ccrc@nlfm.ca

Economic Development and Sustainability: Hand in Hand

This past weekend marked another successful Local Actions for Developing Regions (LADR) workshop. This time the location was the City of Corner Brook.

The event was well attended and the feedback was very positive. For the Corner Brook workshop sessions focused on local issues. The first panel consisted of industry perspectives and impacts on municipalities including tourism, oil and gas, and forestry. There was also a sustainability panel on municipal sustainability research and options presented by the Center for Environmental Excellence, the Centre for Rural Municipal Sustainability and the Community Cooperation Resource Centre. Next was a planning session involving planners from Municipal Affairs, a municipality and the local Regional Economic Development Board focusing on the challenges and opportunities of municipal planning. There was also a funding and support session with presentations from the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Community Business Development Corporations and the Department of Municipal Affairs that covered the various funding and support options that exist for municipalities interested in economic development. During lunch MNL Executive Director Craig Pollett also gave a presentation on one possible pilot project that could help build planning capacity for municipalities.

CCRC activities around service sharing and regional cooperation are often connected to issues of economic development. The CCRC will continue to maintain a close relationship with the LADR workshops and highlight the opportunities for municipal cooperation in the area of economic development.

LEED-ing the way

Green building design is beginning to play a larger role in making communities more environmentally friendly and the LEED program is one tool designed for that purpose.

LEED is a market-based rating system that facilitates and certifies higher energy and environmental performance of buildings and communities. The rating system is adapted to the Canadian market through an inclusive process that engages stakeholders and experts representing the various sectors of the Canadian industry. A rapidly-growing number of governments and private sector organizations are adopting LEED certification in their policies, programming and operations, aimed at achieving and demonstrating sustainability.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is organizing a series of one day workshops across the country on this issue. The workshop for this province is scheduled for March 28 in St John's. For more information on LEED check out this or at the FCM sustainable communities site here and for more on the workshop check out the registration info here.

From the latest Municipal Info Note

The CCRC is happy to announce that the pilot phase of the Municipal Sustainability Self-Assessment Tool Kit is drawing to a close. We would like to thank the following towns for participating in the pilot phase: St. Anthony, Change Islands, Come By Chance, Leading Tickles and Flowers Cove. With comments collected from these towns the CCRC will now evaluate the Self-Assessment process and make changes as required before moving toward a province wide roll out. This Self-Assessment process is an excellent first step in developing the Integrated Community Sustainability Plans (ICSP) that municipalities will have to complete by 2010 to have continued access to gas tax funding. The CCRC will remain involved in the development of the ICSP process and continue to keep municipalities up to date on the roll out of the Self-Assessment around the province.

On January 14th the CCRC facilitated a meeting that involved the towns of Musgrave Harbour, Lumsden, New-Wes-Valley, Greenspond and Centervill-Wareham-Trinity on the topic of regional cooperation in the form of a new joint council. Joint councils are becoming a popular form of cooperation around the province as towns discover that a larger regional voice is more effective and that joint councils provide an excellent opportunity to share concerns with limited commitment. These five towns and two Local Service Districts will now have the opportunity to become part of a regional cooperative effort to improve relationships and increase their lobbying efforts to the benefit of residents in the region. The CCRC is proud to continue our commitment to communities involved in cooperative efforts around the province.

Another Successful Meeting

This past Monday evening, January 14th, 25 municipal leaders met to discuss the possibility of froming a new Joint Council. The towns represented at the meeting were Musgrave Harbour, Lumsdon, New Wes Valley, Indian Bay and Centerville Wareham Trinity. Currently there are approximately 14 Joint Councils in most every region of the province. Petty Harbour Maddox Cove Deputy Mayor Sam Stack is the Chair of the North East Avalon Joint Council and he was also in attendance to describe to those present the activities and operations of his Joint Council. Also in attendance was Kelly Vodden who has researched Joint Councils around the Province and is also a resident of the area. Both Sam and Kelly are also members of the CCRC advisory Committee and their involvement and expertise was welcomed by the group.

Joint Councils are becoming very popular around the Province as they provide an excellent opportunity for neighbouring municipalities to communicate and advocate on issues of common concern. Another advantage that some see is that the level of commitment is entirely up the the towns involved as these Joint Councils have no legal standing and operate on a volunteer basis. There are other options available to towns interested in higher levels of cooperation but joint councils can provide considerable gain while still allowing towns to maintain complete control over their own affairs.

These towns now have the information necessary to make an educated decision as to their involvement in a joint council. Check back as the CCRC remains involved in the process and updates will appear here as they happen. For more information on Joint Councils or other forms of municipal cooperation please contact the CCRC.

2008 The year of Cooperation

Well it is for the CCRC anyway. This year we have many ongoing and planed projects to help municipalities work together to improve their sustainability. One ongoing project is our Municipal Self Assessment and I'm glad to report that another of the pilots has been completed. On January 7th the Town of Come By Chance went through the Self Assessment process and they seemed quite pleased with the process. I'm still trying to arrange the remaining pilot assessments but they have to be completed soon as the CCRC Advisory Committee has to review the entire pilot process before the project can be released across the province. As usual there are many projects the CCRC is involved with and that currently includes the possibility of a new Joint Council and continued work on Fogo Island assisting with their ongoing analysis of their existing municipal structure.

Cheers