Wood First MOU and the City of Williams Lake

Recently, the Cities of Prince George, Quesnel, Campbell River, Castlegar, the Villages of Nakusp and Fruitvale and the District of Squamish along with the Province of BC entered into a Wood First MOU which commits all parties to promoting a "culture of wood" in the Province.

However, in Williams Lake, we are still deciding whether or not to even endorse a Wood First Resolution. This Resolution was supposed to be considered by WL Council on Tuesday, but at the publishing of WL Council's Meeting Agenda for Tuesday, March 9th, the Wood First Resolution had not appeared on the Agenda although it could be still a late item to appear on the Agenda on either Monday or Tuesday. Should it not appear, then that would be unfortunate given that WL City Hall has had well over a month to research this topic and there is no reason for any delay. 7 Local Governments have endorsed a Wood First Resolution. They all can't be wrong for endorsing a "Wood First" Resolution

For the record, here is the contents of the Wood First MOU for my blog readers' information:

WHEREAS the forest products industry is critically important to British Columbia's economy contributing more than any other sector to the provincial trade balance over the past decade

WHEREAS building with wood is recognized to be a catalyst for stimulating forest industry innovation and diversification, creating new markets for value-added wood products and showcasing the economic and environmental advantages of wood as a construction material

WHEREAS the Province of British Columbia has passed the Wood First Act that facilities a culture of wood for construction in British Columbia by requiring the use of wood as the primary building material in all new provincially funded buildings, in a manner consistent with the BC Building Code

WHEREAS municipalities can acknowledge the importance of wood as a building material, and that expression of wood use can support in the achievement of economic, environmental and social benefits for BC communities

WHEREAS seven municipalities in BC have passed "Wood First" resolutions that commit to the development of a culture of wood through the promotion of wood as the building material of first choice in their communities

The PARTIES therefore agree as follows:

1) To jointly recognize the opportunity for local governments to become wood champions and support the Government of BC's Wood First Act by adopting Wood First Resolutions

2) To become partners with the Province of BC in expanding the use of wood in BC and other provinces

3) To commit to the further development of policy that encourage and promote the primary use of wood in municipal structures and also develop a culture of wood amongst architects, designers and engineers

4) To advocate for the adoption of Wood-First resolutions by municipalities in BC

5) To work with the Union of BC Municipalities in order to achieve benefits available to communities through the expanded use of wood