George Heyman, NDP Environment Critic. (Joshua Berson photo)
Federal and provincial NDP representatives are putting different spins on the B.C. Liberal government’s decision to return to discussions about establishing a national park reserve in the South Okanagan.
It may be a case of glass half empty versus glass half full.
George Heyman, the provincial NDP Environment Critic, suggests the announcement by Environment Minister Mary Polak on Friday is “damage control,” and the government’s approach is “a patchwork quilt.”
Richard Cannings, the federal MP for South Okanagan-West Kootenay, welcomed the “small step” forward, while also expressing concern about the “deeply flawed” consultation process.
The two NDP politicians are in different positions.
Heyman represents a party that will soon be going up against the B.C. Liberals in the May 9 provincial election.
Cannings, who attended the announcement as a spectator, but was called up for a photo with his provincial counterparts afterward, tries to maintain cordial relations with MLA Linda Larson, who represents many of the same communities.
Heyman was blunt.
“It looks very much like Mary Polak was set up to do damage control for the Premier’s announcing of a poll that never existed that supposedly opposed the park,” he said. “And Linda Larson’s continuing to be offside with the wishes of the vast majority of area residents.”
Heyman was referring to a story by the Osoyoos Times that revealed Premier Christy Clark was not telling the truth when she told an interviewer with Global Television last summer that “competing surveys” showed majority opposition to a national park. Her office subsequently admitted there was no such poll.
Cannings’ involvement with the national park issue dates back to 1979 when as a young biology graduate he was contracted by Parks Canada to help identify areas in the dry B.C. interior for a possible national park.
Over the years, he has remained engaged in the issue, and as the federal representative of the area, he has spoken with Parks Canada and other federal officials about the proposal.
“I’m always happy to see steps that move us forward toward a national park,” said Cannings after the announcement. “It’s a small step.”
Significant, he said, is that the provincial and federal governments will be talking again and they will be including First Nations in the discussions.
“I’m happy that it’s happening,” he said. “If they come up with a national park proposal that has Area 1 and Area 3, that’s a small step. I’d like to work toward a larger park eventually that would include Area 2 and Vaseux Lake, but any step forward is good in my books.”
Area 1 is south of Highway 3, Area 2 is north of Highway 3, and Area 3 is between White and Vaseux Lakes near Okanagan Falls.
Cannings considers the provincial plan as announced in the August 2015 Intentions Paper and the subsequent consultations to be “deeply flawed.” He said he’s not sure if the province really took into account the views it received from the public.
He was especially concerned about the exclusion of federal lands east of Vaseux Lake and the decision to designate Area 2, which includes Mount Kobau, as a provincial conservancy.
“They took the centerpiece, that whole Mount Kobau area, and have given it a watered-down conservation status as a conservancy, which nobody really knows what that is,” said Cannings. “I gather it’s kind of just on paper. It’s the lowest form of protection the province can provide.”
Heyman, who contacted the Osoyoos Times after the announcement, called for all three areas to be included in a park instead of the “patchwork quilt” approach he said the B.C. government has taken.
“It would lend the greatest value to both the ecological considerations as well as the park and tourism values,” he said. “It would bring huge economic benefits to the area.”
Heyman said he doesn’t believe the announcement removes the issue from the table as the two parties head into a provincial election.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
Richard Cannings, MP South Okanagan-West Kootenay (Richard McGuire photo)
