Part A: Integrated Land Management Bureau

Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Performance Measures

To achieve its three main goals in better serving British Columbians, the Bureau advances a series of objectives, strategies and performance measures. These actions also respond to the emerging issues identified in the planning process.

Goal 1: Citizen-centred delivery of natural resource applications, Crown land availability and information services

In supporting the government-wide priority to provide better services to British Columbians, the Bureau provides its clients with single-point-of-contact services to access natural resources via permits, licences, tenures, Crown land sales and grants or to obtain natural resource information.

Objective 1.1: Service excellence for clients seeking natural resource information and authorizations

The Bureau’s FrontCounter BC provides citizens and the business community with natural resource services that are timely, responsive, accessible, transparent and efficient. This eliminates the need for clients to visit or contact multiple ministries and agencies. The single-point-of-contact service ensures the provision of accurate initial information, offers the convenience of multiple access channels, provides full disclosure of the steps and costs to proceed, reduces turnaround time through inter-agency co-ordination and streamlines application processes.

Strategies

• Provide effective pre-application and application completion services to customers and Ministry clients.
• Support small businesses which rely on Crown land and resources.
• Advance First Nations’ values in the administration of Crown land tenures.
• Co-ordinate the development of independent power projects to support BC Energy Plan and Climate Change initiatives.

Performance Measure 1: Client satisfaction rating as determined by client survey

Discussion

Measuring client satisfaction with the services performed is important to a service organization like the Bureau. In the spring of 2007, a FrontCounter BC overall customer satisfaction rating of 71 per cent was established as a baseline. This survey was conducted by BC Stats, an independent third party. Using customer survey opinions about the quality of services received provides FrontCounter BC with important information that allows for improving operational effectiveness.

  Windpower
       Photo credit: Neil Banera

Objective 1.2: Excellence in building partnerships with local governments and First Nations

Actively supporting community development opportunities and growth in new and emerging regional business sectors by forming partnerships with local government and First Nations is important to the Bureau.

One example of the benefits of reaching this objective is the support given to the delivery of the government’s affordable housing initiative by facilitating partnerships and making Crown land available, while another is by making Crown land available for projects associated with both the Province’s Energy Plan and Climate Change Action Plan.

Strategies

• Build efficient and timely land and resource development consultation and accommodation mechanisms with First Nations.
• Provide effective and efficient administration of Crown land sale partnerships with First Nations and communities.

Performance Measure 2: Number of partnerships and/or agreements

Discussion

This is a revised performance measure designed to provide an indication of Bureau progress in assisting First Nations and local governments in making Crown land available for community development projects such as affordable housing, commercial businesses, fire halls and recreation facilities. In creating these opportunities, the Bureau promotes economic development while respecting social and environmental values. Crown land is made available through a variety of instruments, notably Crown land sales, free Crown grants and Crown land tenures, including those at nominal rents.

Objective 1.3: Provision of FrontCounter BC services in accordance with service agreements with partner agencies

The Bureau pursues this objective in order to provide FrontCounter BC services to its clients in the most effective manner. Service agreements with partner agencies are designed to support efficient and timely turnaround times for natural resource authorizations and permits while ensuring that guidelines aimed at promoting balance, respect for environmental values, transparency and other factors are met. Meeting application processing and adjudication timelines on land and resource applications is critical, particularly for the business community.

Strategies

• Improve service to client agencies by meeting or exceeding performance targets.
• Expand FrontCounter BC services to customers and client agencies by facilitating improved business processes, developing a “Virtual FrontCounter” and encouraging client agencies to adopt higher tier services.

Performance Measure 3: Percentage of natural resource applications prepared for adjudication that are processed under agreed turnaround times

Discussion

This measure reflects FrontCounter BC’s success in assisting businesses and individuals to prepare more complete applications for natural resource-use authorizations and in streamlining the processes in other ways so that less time is required by partner agency adjudication staff to review and decide on applications. The Bureau adjudicates all Crown land tenure applications in accordance with the Crown Land Allocation Framework that is discussed in Part B (page 47). An additional application processing performance measure was dropped from the service plan (but is still measured internally) because it was too similar to the one above.

Hiking in the Rogers Pass area. Photo credit: Jessie Lunan

Goal 2: Sustainable natural resource management through streamlined
inter-agency First Nation co-ordination, planning, and decision-making

The Bureau has numerous administration and management responsibilities for Crown land. Through the co-ordination of multi-agency engagements with First Nations on land and resource issues including land-use planning, species-at-risk recovery planning and decision-making on Crown land tenures and sales, the Bureau is focused on achieving an effective balance between providing First Nations with a forum to express their land and resource development values and interests, resource-use certainty, supporting the needs of communities, furthering responsible economic development and improving environmental stainability.

Objective 2.1: Government’s commitments to finalize strategic land-use decisions fulfilled

The Bureau continues its objective of facilitating the completion of government-to-government strategic land and resource management agreements with First Nations. Through the implementation of these agreements, the Bureau seeks to balance competing land uses, incorporate the values and interests of First Nations, reduce conflict and ensure sustainability of the natural environment and the economy. Challenges associated with achieving this objective include improving the pace of often complex negotiations.

     Sea-to-Sky planning

Strategies

• Facilitate effective implementation and revision of approved strategic land-use plans with First Nations.
• Lead regionally based Inter-Agency Management Committees and First Nation Consultation Teams to optimally co-ordinate First Nation involvement and government interests in the management of provincial natural resources.
• Improve corporate business relationships by supporting cross agency collaboration, corporate referral approaches and improved government engagements with First Nations.
• Meet corporate legal obligations through the implementation of treaty and legal agreements.

Performance Measure 4: Strategic engagement agreements reached with First Nations

Discussion

This is a modified performance measure that is designed to gauge the progress the Bureau is now undertaking with respect to co-ordinating multi-agency consultation, accommodation and strategic engagement agreements with First Nations on land and resource management. The previous land-use planning measure was changed to reflect an increased emphasis on the engagement of First Nations people.

Objective 2.2: Excellence in co-ordinating multi-agency engagement with First Nations on land and resource management

The Bureau is working with other agencies in co-ordinating engagements with First Nations on land and resource management. In addition to the land-use agreements mentioned in the objective above, the Bureau is also working to enhance the development referral process, co-ordinate multi-jurisdictional ocean and marine planning issues, improve consultation mechanisms and co-ordinate other government-to-government natural resource management agreements. Challenges the Bureau faces in reaching this objective include the capacity for First Nations to engage government, optimally allocate government resources to the task at hand and ensure that other interests (such as communities) are not left out.

Strategies

• Co-ordinate engagement with First Nations in government-to-government negotiations when developing strategic engagement and consultation agreements.
• Co-ordinate provincial First Nations consultation and accommodation on land and resource management.

Objective 2.3: Approved species recovery plans implemented

The Bureau will work with partner agencies and seek to facilitate and co-ordinate proactive efforts to implement Bureau-led strategies to recover broad-ranging species-at-risk, while providing certainty for those wishing to invest in Crown land activities.

Strategies

• Co-ordinate and facilitate corporate implementation of government decisions on northern spotted owl and mountain caribou.
• Continue co-ordination of provincial government involvement in federally led marbled murrelet recovery plan development.

A performance measure concerning approvals of species-at-risk recovery plans used in last year’s service plan was dropped, as these recovery plans are now moving into their implementation phases.

Goal 3: Integrated land and resource information

The management of Crown land and its resources is more balanced and effective when supported by the efficient delivery of integrated land and resource information. The Bureau is the main provider and manager of such natural resource information, which is beneficial to both the public and all sectors of the economy.

Objective 3.1: Excellence in the provision of provincial land and resource information services to (i) clients external to government and (ii) internal clients

Integrated web-based systems are key to providing easy access to land and resource information and services, and an essential component of the Bureau’s service delivery. Understanding and meeting the needs of clients is crucial to achieving this objective. Providing effective land and resource information, services and related analysis leads to more fully informed clients, better decision-making and reduced application processing times. The Bureau is also focused on providing overall governance across the province concerning standards, systems and pricing for the collection, storage and delivery of land and resource information.

Strategies

• Expand government clients to include all ministries using geographic information by providing infrastructure, expertise and corporate leadership in the provision of spatial information services.
• Develop corporate information and data management tools for government.
• Add value to Bureau clients through facilitating and delivering effective products and services across the province.

Performance Measure 5: Percentage growth in government and citizen access to corporate land and resource geographic information

Discussion

This performance measure was revised to reflect the increased ability of government agencies and the public to access the land and resource geographic information contained within the Bureau’s Land and Resource Data Warehouse. The measure also provides an indication of the usefulness of the land and resource information to Bureau clients. The warehouse is the corporate repository for integrated land, resource and geographic data that supports a variety of business requirements for the natural resource sector, other government agencies and the public.