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A Bibliography on Local Government in
British Columbia - Continued

British Columbia Local Government: General

Perhaps the most striking thing about the literature on local government of British Columbia is the limited amount of it. This makes it difficult to do comparative work, or to make generalizations, because the basic descriptive material needed as building blocks for analysis is so often lacking. Nonetheless, one can point to some themes in the body of literature that does exist. General Canadian themes which apply include the frustrations caused by financial constraints on local governments, the need for increasingly sophisticated administrative techniques, and the gradually increasing provincial centralization of power and closer supervision of local governments. More specific to this province is a strong pragmatic bent to provincial government policies. Issues have been dealt with as they came up, rather than fitted into some overall grand strategy. The flexibility of regional district functions exemplifies this pragmatic attitude. Also significant is the nature of B.C.'s economy. Largely resource-based and export-oriented, the economy is subject to periodic upswings and downswings, which have both direct and indirect effects on local government finances and demands for services. It has also been suggested that, at least until recently, the B.C. government has been more inclined to adopt a "hands off" attitude towards local governments than has been the case in some other provinces. For instance, forced amalgamation of unwilling municipalities has not generally been a feature of B.C. politics.
 

Another characteristic of the literature -- although this is not a theme -- is that much of it is about Vancouver, either the city itself or the Greater Vancouver area. There is a much smaller body of literature about single-industry towns, such as Tumbler Ridge and Gold River. Cities between these two extremes in either size or degree of economic specialization have received little attention in the political or economic or sociological literature.
 

In addition to the citations listed here, see also Higgins, Tindal and Tindal, and Crawford in section 1, part A, and see section 13, part B, for works relating to metropolitan government and regional districts in B.C.
 

Annual Reports: The Department of Municipal Affairs was established on March 29, 1934. For annual reports up to 1975, see British Columbia. Department of Municipal Affairs. Annual Report. For 1976 and 1977, see British Columbia. Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Annual Report. For 1978 to 1985-86, see British Columbia. Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Annual Report. General note: Official title is "Report for the Year Ended Dec. 31," up to 1983. The next report is for fiscal year 1984-85, then 1985-86. The 1986-87 report is forthcoming. Note that as of July 6, 1988, the Ministry was reorganized and is now known as the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Recreation and Culture.
 

Bish, Robert L. Local Government in British Columbia. Richmond, B.C.: Union of British Columbia Municipalities in cooperation with the University of Victoria School of Public Administration, 1987.
 

Bracewell, Ben. "The Development of Local Government in British Columbia." Mimeo, 1970. Copy in the Local Government Research Library of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Recreation and Culture.
 

British Columbia. Legislative Assembly. Sessional Papers. 1876-1957. Includes financial papers, annual reports, returns and miscellaneous papers.
 

British Columbia. Royal Commission on Municipal Government. Report of the Royal Commission on Municipal Government, 1912. Victoria: W. H. Cullin, 1913. Chairman: W. H. Keary.
 

British Columbia. Royal Commission on Municipal Taxation. Report of the Municipal Taxation Commission, 1933. Victoria: Mimeograph Department, Government Printing Bureau, 1934. Chairman: A. M. Harper. Discussion is broader than the title suggests.
 

British Columbia. Royal Commission on Provincial-Municipal Relations. Provincial-Municipal Relations in British Columbia: Report of the Commissioner. Victoria: King's Printer, 1947. Commissioner: H. Carl Goldenberg. ("The Goldenberg Report.")

Goldsmith-Jones, Pamela J. "A Reevaluation of Local Government Associations: A Case Study of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities." M.A. thesis, University of British Columbia, 1988.
 

McKelvey, C. S. J. Report on Proposal for Decentralization and Related Matters. Prepared for the Premier's Conference on Decentralization by C. S. J. McKelvey, December 23, 1986. Prepared for: Province of British Columbia, Office of the Premier.
 

Municipal Statistics (subtitle varies). These were included in the annual report up until 1950. For 1951 to 1975, see British Columbia. Department of Municipal Affairs. Municipal Statistics. For 1976 and 1977, see British Columbia. Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Municipal Statistics. For 1978 to 1986, see British Columbia. Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Municipal Statistics. Note that as of July 6, 1988, the Ministry is now known as the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Recreation and Culture. Municipal Statistics for 1987 forthcoming early 1989.
 

Statistics Relating to Regional and Municipal Governments in British Columbia. See British Columbia. Department of Municipal Affairs. Statistics Relating to Regional and Municipal Government in British Columbia, 1969-1976. See British Columbia, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Statistics Relating to Regional and Municipal Governments in British Columbia, for 1977 and 1978. For 1979 to 1987, see British Columbia. Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Statistics Relating to Regional and Municipal Governments in British Columbia. Note that as of July 6,1988, the Ministry is now known as the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Recreation and Culture.
 

Swainson, Neil A. "The Provincial-Municipal Relationship." Chapter 8 of The Reins of Power: Governing British Columbia. By J. Terence Morley, Norman J. Ruff, Neil A. Swainson, R. Jeremy Wilson and Walter D. Young, 237-69. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 1983.
 

Union of British Columbia Municipalities. Guide to UBCM Information Services. Richmond B.C.: UBCM, 1988.
 

Union of British Columbia Municipalities. Minutes of the Convention of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities. Annual.
 

Union of British Columbia Municipalities. Statement of the General Policies of the UBCM. Adopted at the 80th Annual Convention, September 14th, 1983.
 

Watters, Dean D., ed. Local Government in British Columbia. Contributors: Bill Kennedy, Richard Taylor and Dean Watters. This is a useful 8 page joint publication of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities and the Municipal Officers' Association of British Columbia, 1987. Topics discussed include municipal finances, council powers, municipal employees, elections and regional districts.
 

Please send any comments or questions to Nicola.Marotz@gov.bc.ca
 

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