There will never be a Union of British Columbia Municipalities convention where a crisis of one sort or another is not on the agenda.

The very design of the century-old gathering works to escalate local problems to the provincial level in hopes of getting more attention (or more money).

But this year’s gathering of the clans is striking for the level of anxiety over the jumble of issues surrounding homelessness, street disorder, persistent offenders, drug addiction and mental-health problems.

They all fit loosely under the heading of downtown decay. They are not going away despite alarm bells that have been ringing for years.

A succession of provincial governments have listened to all the urgent warnings and taken various steps.

But here we are in 2025, with no fewer than 16 resolutions on the UBCM agenda begging senior governments to do more to combat the multi-faceted problem. Not just the bigger cities, either.

Castlegar, Nelson and Trail have a joint resolution asking for a better strategy.

Revelstoke wants the B.C. government to act on homeless encampments outside municipal boundaries.

Suburban Maple Ridge wants more........

© Castanet