When they were granted a license last November, the regulations stated Trans Mountain “must contribute to the scientific knowledge of the protected area(s).” They were conducting a feasibility study that was the preliminary step to building a pipeline. Now the legality of pipeline research in BC’s parks is being questioned .
Four months passed before the BC Government passed legislation, Bill 4: The Park Amendment Act, that made industrial research in public parks legal. It was rushed through the legislature with no public consultation.
The Clark government introduced legislation dividing the province’s Agriculture Land Reserve in half. In the South, “decisions will continue to be made on the basis of the original principle of preserving agricultural land.” They want freedom to reconsider how parcels the Northern section will be used. A news release entitled “Food for Thought” explained this by saying 85% of agricultural revenues came from a mere 10% of the land. It looks like the BC Government wants to frack BC’s Agricultural Land Reserve in the north.
Opposition MLA Vicki Huntington had stronger words, “Without consultation, this government has introduced legislation to remove 90 per cent of BC’s farmland from the ALC’s (Agricultural Land Commission) independent mandate to protect farmland and farming.”
Concerns about changes to the Agricultural Land Commission are growing. The Commission was established in 1972 and currently oversees 4.7 million ha of agricultural land, roughly 5% of BC. A leaked cabinet document, from Agricultural Minister Pat Prim’s office, reveled plans to divide the ALR into northern and southern zones, with the Oil and Gas Commission taking authority over the northern zone.
The Government of British Columbia and the Tla’amin Nation have signed the final agreement that precedes the signing of a treaty.
The Tla’amin occupied the northern part of the Sunshine Coast (see map above), practising their traditional lifestyle and governed by their own laws, for 2,000 years. There are presently 1,026 band members, most of which live on the reserve north of Powell River.
Thousands of people may be descending on Victoria on March 11, protesting service cuts to an overpriced BC Ferry System.
Notices have been posted in local webpages like the Salt Spring Exchange and Cortes Island Tideline Buses are accepting a $10 donation to transport passengers from Campbell River to Victoria, so that demonstrators can “make it back for dinner time!” Another bus will be leaving the Sunshine Coast at 6:20 am and will reach Victoria at 11:30. On April 1, 2014, the BC Ferries systemintends to cut 7,000 sailings.
