More than a dozen organizations are banding together with elected officials in British Columbia to call for a provincial approach to protecting tenants from extreme heat — a shift from the piecemeal approach of municipalities addressing the issue individually. There have been instances of landlords and stratas not allowing tenants to install AC units, even as the provincial government offered free ones to renters. This push comes ahead of the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention, where municipal representatives are meeting with provincial ministers over the next couple of days. Resolutions can be brought forward and adopted and, if passed, they “become part of the advocacy that the UBCM executive would undertake with the province,” explained McIlroy. Since BC’s deadly 2021 heat dome, during which more than 600 people died, municipalities have been grappling with how to protect people from extreme heat as climate change makes hot summers the norm.