Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. Says Park Policy Offers Protection While Others Fear Development

The Canadian Press, 07 Aug, 2015 11:31 AM
    VICTORIA — British Columbia's Environment Ministry is poised to introduce a new policy it says will ensure the province's parks are off limits to industrial activities, but an environmental group fears the plan will open the gates to pipelines and other development projects.
     
    The Ministry of Environment is expected to release its policy on issuing permits for research and information gathering within provincial parks on Friday.
     
    Last year's Park Amendment Act touched off a massive petition campaign from B.C. environmental groups that said the Liberal government was enacting legislation that opened the door to industrial development, including oil and gas pipelines, within parks and protected areas.
     
    More than 167,000 people signed a petition calling on the government to repeal the Park Amendment Act, which became law in March 2014.
     
    "Protecting our natural spaces is a priority," said Environment Minister Mary Polak in a written statement. "This policy provides more clarity around how research and information-gathering activities will be undertaken in B.C.'s parks and protected areas, which allows us to make informed decisions."
     
    A ministry statement said the new policy improves clarity, certainty and authority when issuing permits authorizing activities related to research and investigation in parks. The statement said B.C. parks remain off limits to new industrial activity, but the research permits could play a role in decisions relating to requests to adjust park boundaries.
     
    "Research can be purely for academic purposes, park and protected area management or as part of an environmental assessment or feasibility study," said the ministry statement.
     
    But Wilderness Committee policy director Gwen Barlee said the new permit policy and the amended Park Act gives the government more powers to clear the way for industrial activity in provincial parks. She said parks were created to protect areas from industrial development but that the door has now been opened.
     
    "To say we want to loosen those protections makes parks really vulnerable to industrial development," she said. "And that just defeats the very purpose of why they were created."
     
    Barlee said Polak told the legislature last year during debate over the Park Act that the government required statutory approval to give the province more authority to grant or deny park permit applications.
     
    The Environment Ministry statement said land can be removed from a B.C. park, but that requires an application for a boundary adjustment.
     
    "Before any proposed park boundary adjustment is considered, a very rigorous exercise must be undertaken requiring public, First Nations and local community consultation, a review of alternatives to avoid the park and the completion of environmental assessments," said the statement.
     
    It said that since 2004, 0.028 per cent of 14 million hectares in B.C.'s protected areas has been affected by boundary adjustments.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    B.C. Fishing Guide And His Client Accused Of Trying To Corral Deer In Water

    B.C. Fishing Guide And His Client Accused Of Trying To Corral Deer In Water
    KITIMAT, B.C. — A British Columbia fishing guide and his Portuguese client face several charges over allegations they tried to catch a deer while it was swimming in the Douglas Channel, on the northern coast.

    B.C. Fishing Guide And His Client Accused Of Trying To Corral Deer In Water

    About To Launch Album Debut, Chris Hadfield Talks Recording Music In Space

    TORONTO — Even two months away from launch, Chris Hadfield can claim without a trace of immodesty that his upcoming debut album is out of this world.

    About To Launch Album Debut, Chris Hadfield Talks Recording Music In Space

    Hundreds Attending United Church Triennial General Council In Newfoundland

    Hundreds Attending United Church Triennial General Council In Newfoundland
    TORONTO — Hundreds of people have been descending on Corner Brook, N.L., ahead of Saturday's opening of the United Church of Canada's triennial conference, which will elect a new spiritual leader and thrash out governance issues.

    Hundreds Attending United Church Triennial General Council In Newfoundland

    Natural Gas Pipeline From B.C. To Chicago Shut Down Due To Hydrogen Sulphide

    Natural Gas Pipeline From B.C. To Chicago Shut Down Due To Hydrogen Sulphide
    CALGARY — Alliance Pipeline says it has shut a major Canada-U.S. natural gas conduit while it handles dangerous hydrogen sulphide gas that entered the system.

    Natural Gas Pipeline From B.C. To Chicago Shut Down Due To Hydrogen Sulphide

    Canadian Natural Posts $405-million Net Loss On Higher Alberta Tax Rate

    Canadian Natural Posts $405-million Net Loss On Higher Alberta Tax Rate
    Canadian Natural Resources is warning that Alberta's corporate tax hike will hit employment, though both company executives and Premier Rachel Notley agree the steep drop in crude prices is a much bigger challenge.

    Canadian Natural Posts $405-million Net Loss On Higher Alberta Tax Rate

    Telus Q2 profit takes hit from Blacks closure, operating revenue up 5.1%

    Telus Q2 profit takes hit from Blacks closure, operating revenue up 5.1%
    Telus Corp. (TSX:T) is reporting a 10.5 per cent decline in net income for the second quarter, which included costs related to the closure of the 59 Blacks photography stores.

    Telus Q2 profit takes hit from Blacks closure, operating revenue up 5.1%