WTABC released a document this week titled Isues, Policies and Positions to inform party leaders and candidates, and to help identify issues leading up to the 2013 British Columbia general election and beyond.
In order to protect the scarce resources that support sustainable wilderness tourism in the province, and to create business environment where the tourism industry can be successful, certain parameters must be applied. We also need to raise strong awareness among governments, industry sectors and the public about the value of tourism in BC’s regions and communities and the issues our sector faces.
For more information please contact Evan Loveless, Executive Director at 250-336-2862 or evan@wilderness-tourism.bc.ca
BC and Cohen Commission Recommendations
On
March 22, the B.C. government announced that it had accepted each of
the eight Cohen Commission recommendations that directly reference the
Province. Accordingly, the Province has no intention of issuing any new
tenure agreements for net-pen salmon farms in the Discovery Islands
until Sept. 30, 2020. Other Cohen recommendations regarded various
aspects of riparian area management and compliance and enforcement, the
Water Act, marine habitat spill response, agriculture and forestry
pesticide record keeping, and that the monitoring of industrial and
wastewater management includes consideration for sockeye salmon.
The final report of the Commission of Inquiry into the decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River was released on Oct. 31, 2012. The report includes 75 recommendations regarding the policies, practices and procedures of the federal government's Fisheries and Oceans Canada, eight of which directly or indirectly reference the Province of British Columbia.
The WTABC issued a press release supporting the BC Government's
announcement, but pushed for stronger measures to protect wild salmon.
Please click
here for a copy of our press release and
here for
a copy of our wild salmon position paper. While the BC Government are
responding to the Cohen Commission report, we are still waiting for the
Federal government to respond and to take action on Cohen's
recommendations.
Destination BC
On
November 5, 2012, Premier Christy Clark announced Destination BC, a new
industry-led, formula-funded Crown corporation that will work
collaboratively with tourism stakeholders across the province to market
B.C.'s rich tourism resources. You can read the original press release and backgrounder here. At the time, the WTA was cautiously optimistic about this announcement. In February government released the proposed Destination BC Corp Act. In a position paper submitted to Minister Pat Bell (Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training)
and NDP Leader Adrian Dix, the
WTABC identified four main areas of concern with Destination BC:
funding, governance, staffing, and control as referenced in the attached
position paper. At the root of our concerns is the issue
of direct government management and control of the corporation. From a
tourism industry perspective, the Destination BC
structure should support an industry led, formula funded agency that is
accountable to the tourism industry and government, but autonomous in
operations. Click here for a copy of our position paper. A press release
regarding these issues was also issued.
While the WTABC Board felt
that the Destination BC Act should pass, and we applauded government's
move towards returning BC's tourism marketing and development back to a
crown corporation, we find many deficiencies in the current
structure and the Act that need to be identified and improved. The Destination BC Corp Act
received Royal Assent in the BC Legislature on March 14, 2013. We have the
opportunity to return BC to a global leader in tourism marketing and
development with the new organization if it is structured
appropriately. We look forward to
working with the tourism industry and the next government to improve
upon the current model.
Forestry Update
The Liberal government recently released their report titled "Beyond the Beetle: A mid-term timber supply action plan". The 16-page report is a response to an August report from the Special Legislative Committee on Timber Supply that held hearings throughout the province last spring and into the early summer to investigate and make recommendations to address the loss of mid-term timber supply in the interior due to the mountain pine beetle epidemic. You can find the government's report here: http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfp/mountain_pine_beetle/mid-term-timber-supply-project/MTTS-Action-Plan-201210.pdf, and a copy of the government news release here: http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2009-2013/2012FOR0193-001516.htm. In reaction to the report, Bob Simpson (Independent MLA and forestry critic) wrote an interesting column that can be found here: http://www.bobsimpsonmla.ca/stumbling-blindly-into-the-future/. A copy of WTA's submission to the Special Legislative Committee on Timber Supply on July 20, 2012 can be found here
One of the key recommendations from this report was regarding tenure reform, specifically moving towards more area-based tenures. However, a controversial section of Bill 8
(Miscellaneous Statutes Act) that would enable government to transform
renewable timber lincenses from volume-based to area-based tenures was
dropped from the proposed legislation. This was the result of much
public objection to the idea without full public review. Part of the
rationale to change the legislation was to help address the mid-term
timber supply issue including a secure timber source for a new mill in
Burns Lake. The WTA will continue to be involved in reforms of the
forest industry including possible tenure reform.
Northern Gateway Project
The WTA attended a community hearing in Vancouver on January, 30 2013
for the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project (NGP) Joint Review Panel, and
Evan Loveless (WTA Executive Director) provided an Oral Statement
regarding the proposed pipeline and tanker port/route. A copy of the WTA
position paper on the issue and official written submission to the Joint Review Panel can be found here.
The NGP has become a major issue for BC and is deemed a significant
threat to BC's tourism industry. For more information about the Joint
Review Panel and its process, or to view transcripts of the Oral
presentations, please refer to the Joint Review Panel
website:http://gatewaypanel.review-examen.gc.ca/clf-nsi/hm-eng.html.
