No public consultations on national park reserve to be held before the fall; documents show few decisions were made at time of announcement last October

Those seeking answers on what a national park reserve in the South Okanagan might look like will have to wait at least until the fall.

“Consultations are tentatively planned for the fall of 2018,” a Parks Canada spokesperson told the Osoyoos Times recently.

“Details on the approach are still to be determined and will be announced in due course.”

Last October, the federal and provincial governments and the Okanagan Nation Alliance held a media event in Osoyoos to announce the three levels of government had made a “renewed commitment to work together to establish a new national park reserve in the South Okanagan-Similkameen.”

But documents obtained last Wednesday through B.C.’s Freedom of Information law suggest the governments had not yet made any decisions on key issues such as the boundaries or what activities might be permitted in a park.

The documents obtained by the Osoyoos Times, from which large portions have been redacted (censored), deal with strategic messaging by the federal and provincial governments for the announcement made Oct. 27, 2017 at the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre.

A media event plan said the province’s desired news headline for the announcement was: “B.C. declares its support for a South Okanagan National Park Reserve.”

Their desired still image was a photo of George Heyman, B.C. minister of environment and climate change strategy, with Catherine McKenna, federal minister of environment and climate change, with Osoyoos Indian Band Chief Clarence Louie and with Mount Kobau in the background.

The documents contain no major surprises, but they shed light on the planning process for the announcement, which provided few specifics and left some media at the time wondering what was new.

One B.C. official commented last August that a question and answer package “still needs some work,” possibly addressing how range tenures and HNZ helicopter tenures would be handled, along with more explanation of the park establishment process.

The final question and answer package, however, contains no such details other than a statement that Parks Canada is “committed to respecting provincial permits for helicopter access and training within the proposed park.”

As for next steps, the Q and A simply said the three levels of government will decide if the final proposal is feasible and under what terms and conditions.

“Once there is agreement, the next step would be the negotiation of the required agreement or agreements,” said the Q and A, which was also vague on the timeframe.

The partners “will take the necessary time to ensure that all parties are engaged and that the appropriate consideration and time is given at each stage,” the Q and A said.

“Public consultations, particularly with local Indigenous communities, will play a key role in concluding the feasibility assessment,” it continued. “These discussions will also take into consideration the continuation of ranching and recreational activities in the region.”

In a recent statement from Parks Canada, the federal agency said an initial face-to-face trilateral meeting between the three levels of government wasn’t held until March, with a second meeting in April.

“These meetings were preceded by a number of trilateral and bilateral teleconferences,” said the spokesperson. “The current focus of discussions has been on reviewing previous work by the province, First Nations groups and Parks Canada to identify a recommended park concept, including a boundary, for public consultations.”

Asked if Parks Canada is hiring a local person to deal with the community in the area of the proposed park, the spokesperson suggested steps are being taken.

“Parks Canada recognizes the importance of having a community presence as we move forward in the establishment of this national park reserve,” she said. “Parks Canada’s current focus is on the process of assigning a project manager for this initiative.”

Although the question and answer package prepared for the media event last October makes clear that no boundaries or concepts had been considered at that time, special mention was made of Willowbrook, which has been a hotbed of anti-park sentiment.

That community itself has never been considered for inclusion in a national park reserve, but the B.C. government’s intentions paper released in August 2015 did propose that provincial Crown lands surrounding Willowbrook be included.

“Parks Canada was not involved in the development of the previous B.C. government’s protected areas plan for the South Okanagan, nor in its public review,” the document says. “Parks Canada does not include communities within new national park reserves.”

Also included in the documents is emailed correspondence to nine provincial officials who were alerted last November to a media inquiry by the Osoyoos Times to Parks Canada.

This shows the extent to which the two governments were coordinating their messaging.

The answers drafted to respond to the Osoyoos Times in November touch on issues of cattle grazing and ranching, which were not dealt with in the Q and A for the October announcement.

“Long-term relationships with ranchers are critical to the future success of a national park reserve in the South Okanagan-Lower Similkameen,” said the response.

“Although commercial livestock grazing is not typically allowed in a national park reserve, Parks Canada is committed to working with ranching families and the local livestock association to build a model and framework for working together to manage grazing compatible with the national park reserve,” it continued.“This model will seek to provide ranching families with stability and certainty on Crown grazing lands, tenures, water and other resource values within the concept area.”

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times