Island municipality
British Columbia is the third-most populous province in Canada with 4,648,055 residents as of 2016 and is the second-largest in land area at 922,503 km2 (356,180 sq mi). British Columbia's 162 municipalities cover only 11% of the province's land mass yet are home to 89% of its population. A municipality is a local government incorporated by the province allowing a community to govern itself and to provide and regulate local services. These services typically include, but are not limited to, the provision of drinking water, sewers, roads, fire protection, street lights, garbage/recycling collection, land use planning, building inspection, and parks.
Within their limited jurisdictions, municipalities are autonomous, responsible and accountable to their citizens, to the province and their future residents in the case for the unpopulated Jumbo Glacier Mountain Resort Municipality. Their powers and responsibilities are regulated through the Local Government Act of British Columbia, the Community Charter, and, in the case of Vancouver, the Vancouver Charter. They have the power of a natural person, the power to expropriate, and the power to establish and enforce bylaws. They are able to raise funds through property taxes and user fees, and borrow a limited amount through the Municipal Finance Authority of British Columbia to pay for capital costs.
Municipalities are governed by a mayor and council who are democratically elected every 4 years on the third Saturday in October or appointed by the province such as the council for Jumbo Glacier. The most recent election took place on November 15, 2014; the next election will take place on October 20, 2018. Each municipality is a member of a regional district to which their councils elect representatives. The board of directors of the regional district is used as a forum to discuss regional issues.
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