In May of this year, COAP sent an FOI request to North Cowichan asking to provide us with details about their declaration of a “climate emergency” back in 2019.
We asked for a definition of which there was none. We asked for the partners they worked with after this declaration and found the usual culprits like The Union of BC Municipalities. We also requested all emails on this topic during the month they declared this “emergency”, and found one local NGO that led the push behind this declaration as well as the continued pressure for our local governments to create bylaws based on THEIR thoughts around what needs to change.
Finally, we also asked for the initiatives that came from this declaration, and all we can say is, a massive layout in cash for multi initiatives, new staff, and relocation of taxpayer’s funds, vastly shifted after the declaration.
Don’t let the 47 pages intimidate you, they are mostly filled with random articles sent to the council, and you can just skip over those. The first few pages are worth the look, as is near the end where you can see the NGO – One Cowichan- suggest multiple bylaws be implemented, as well as the ask that no more housing or business use buildings be built if they are car-dependent.
Our FOI documents are hosted on Google Drive, feel free to browse at your leisure.