Over the last decade, the BC Liberals have sorely failed to devise or implement serious land-use plans



Dan Brooks, former BC Conservative
candidate for Nechako Lakes

Today's Conservative Thoughts piece comes from former Nechako Lakes BC Conservative candidate Dan Brooks. 

 

A comprehensive and innovative Community Land Use Planning Initiative for northern communities needs to be a key priority for the government of BC.  Land-use planning is a critical component of resource development. Yet, over the last decade, the BC Liberals have sorely failed to devise or implement serious land-use plans. 

 

It is essential to engage communities in land use planning -- communities must have a greater say in how projects and resources are developed. 

 

Any new initiative needs to have: 

 

1. Clear Expectations - When new projects are proposed or under consideration, it is important that community expectations are clearly delineated in relation to how they benefit or impact stakeholders. 

 

Communicating clear expectations is essential if stakeholder and community concerns are to be met.  Land use planning is the best vehicle to convey those interests, and afterwards it will be up to businesses to determine if a project is viable given the community expectations. 

 

2. Predictable Outcomes - Greater certainty is essential in attracting business investment for resource development. Project approval should be a predictable outcome if businesses meet the expectations set out for them through land use planning. Likewise, failure to meet those expectations should result in project rejection. 

 

It is unfair to companies who invest millions in resource development to have a project rejected due to unpredictable vague platitudes about land use. 

Could this in fact be the real reason, for the BC Liberal government, to be declaring they will not agree to the Northern Gateway Pipeline proceeding

Let me begin today's Conservative Thoughts blog post with the following:

"Under our feet lies as much energy as Alberta has in its oil patch. It is in the form of natural gas, a cleaner alternative to oil or coal, in the Northeast corner of British Columbia ... our goal is to have a Liquefied Natural Gas industry that will add value to our abundant natural gas resource by shipping it by sea to Asia ..." ~~~ 2013 BC Liberal Election Platform

 

I'll come back to this shortly.

 

With the Final Hearings and Questioning Phase yet to be held, by the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project Joint Review Panel, the BC Liberal government Environment Minister, Terry Lake, has already announced "Our questions were not satisfactorily answered during these hearings." 

 

For those unaware ... there are still twelve days of hearings yet to be held in Terrace from June 17th and 28th.  Would it not seem to be in BC's best interests to wait for them (the hearings) to conclude before coming to that decision? 

 

BC needs a provincial government that is prepared to work with and for British Columbians, to implement policies that take full advantage of our natural resources, our geographic position, and our hard-working residents.  

 

Yet despite that, and just two short weeks after the provincial election, both Premier Christy Clark, and Environment Minister Terry Lake, are both showing the Liberals are going to be a failure in that area.  

 

Our province has suffered ongoing interprovincial population loses since Christy Clark first became Premier two and a half years ago.  With Environment Minister Terry Lake's announcement Friday, the people of BC can except that trend, officially documented and recorded by BC Stats, will continue. 

 

Once again, this government, led by Premier Christy Clark, is about to betray the hard working men and women of the Peace River and Northern BC, by rejecting the Northern Gateway development, before the Review Panel completes its duties. 

 

It's one thing to criticize, but what are your expectations; what will satisfy your government?  Both Terry Lake and Christy Clark can't simply say they are opposed.  What is the government's real position; and what outcomes do you need to have met, so that they can be realistically addressed. 

 

In a story on Saturday (June 1st), in the Kamloops Daily News, they state:
Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development Minister Diana McQueen issued a statement saying the two provinces have a shared commitment to both protecting the environment and economic growth. 

John Cummins: "All we need to do to secure a better future is to believe in ourselves"

John Cummins, leader of the BC Conservatives, today released his party's Alternative Throne Speech (2013) which features the theme of 'We believe in B.C.' 

"The BC Conservatives have a positive, optimistic view of British Columbia," said Cummins. "We believe our future has the potential to be better than our past, but there are significant challenges that must be overcome if we are to take full advantage of our many opportunities."

The BC Conservatives' Alternative Throne Speech, 2013, pointed out that B.C. not long ago led the country in terms of average-weekly earnings, but today has sunk to fifth place.

In gross domestic product per capita, B.C. similarly has fallen to fifth in Canada. In fact, British Columbia's GDP per capita is nearly $2,000 behind the national average. 

Labour income - which is the sum of all wages and salaries paid to B.C. workers - is approximately $10.8 billion less than it was two decades ago.

Once a population magnet that drew workers and families from across the country to the Pacific coast, B.C. over the last year-and-a-half has been suffering net losses from interprovincial migration.

B.C. used to be a high-wage province, but that hasn't been the case in recent decades.

How to turn around the province? The BC Conservatives' Alternative Throne Speech, 2013, outlined a number of areas that the party would focus on, including specific policies to assist rural and northern B.C., resource development, fair taxation (including repeal of the carbon tax), balanced budgets, safer communities, skills training and apprenticeships, transportation and agriculture. 

"All we need to do to secure a better future is to believe in ourselves," said Cummins. "The BC Conservatives believe in BC"

To read the full BC Conservative plan ... showing how We Believe in BC ... CLICK HERE

SHARP: "I have made BC, and in particular Kamloops, my home ... I have no more desire to live in a cesspool of pollution, or a scared landscaped, than anyone else."

BC Conservative Party nominee candidate Peter Sharp

Today's Conservative Thoughts blog post is a guest piece from Kamloops South Thompson BC Conservative nominee candidate Peter Sharp.  He writes in response to an article by Kamloops City Councilor Donovan Cavers:

My friend  and Kamloops City Councilor, Donovan Cavers, is concerned about the prospect of the proposed Ajax Mine falling off the radar in Kamloops, stating: 

 

"If, as it seems likely, a decision on the Aberdeen mine falls after the provincial election, will it receive the full and thoughtful examination it warrants during the writ period? Or, will brief responses such as, “I can’t comment as the process is underway,” or “Our party supports the health and prosperity of all Kamloops citizens” and similar “soft” answers echo forum after forum? Perhaps the only firm responses will come from B.C. Conservative candidates cheering the project on, “Full steam ahead!”

You can read his full opinion piece, "Will Ajax be lost in election politics?" by CLICKING HERE.

 

Donovan -- you should indeed be worried we will get more of the same wishy-washy talk from both the BC Liberals and the NDP on the prospect of ANY kind of resource development. They refuse to take any kind of stand for fear of backlash from one side or the other.

The BC Conservatives on the other hand have been very clear ... "Yes -- full steam ahead" with developments that will create well-paying family supporting jobs -- and NEW jobs for our young people desperately looking for something other than low minimum pay entry level jobs.

Its NOT development at any cost however. 

Article3.1.1 of our policy states that we will ... "Enact all legislation in accordance with the concept of economic growth and job creation being most effectively driven through private enterprise as the engine of the economy."

We have, what we believe to be, a balance approach to job creation and long term protection of the environment. Article 7 of our Environmental policy begins by stating:

"We recognize that BC’s diverse environmental assets are the envy of much of the world and should be preserved and protected, and that environmental and fiscal sustainability and optimization should be the hallmark of a government’s policy. To ensure this, our government will work with the public, landowners, involved business interests and other stakeholder groups."

It goes on to state, among other things, that we WILL:

How do we live our life, based on the risks that are presented to us?

Let’s make decisions on whether to proceed, or not proceed, based on real facts.

I was asked the following question by someone yesterday:

One wonders how members of the North Coast fishing industry feel about John Cummins championing a program that would see regular traffic of crude-oil supertankers through their fishing grounds.

I can't claim to know the mind and thoughts of John Cummins, or fishermen on the North Coast, for that matter.  

I don’t speak for the BC Conservative Party … I’m a member just like any other … although I do hold a position as a representative for the party in the Kamloops area.  That’s just my way of saying I think like a small “c” conservative – and what I write are my own thoughts.  So here we go … in answer to that question.

I have said on many occasions that the prosperity, and well-being, of British Columbia depends on the high paying wealth generating resource based jobs (on the land and in the water).

That said … I am NOT in favor of resource development for the sake of $$ … nor am I in favor of NO development because there may be the slightest possible chance of an environmental accident.

Every day our own life is a series of possibilities that rank from a high probability --- to little or no chance of ever possibly happening.  So what do we do about the ones with little or no chance, and how do we live our life based on the risks that are presented to us?

Should we simply stay in bed because we MAY be hit by a bus?

Should we never leave the house because there is a chance we could be hit by lightning?

Should we not drive our car because we may get in an accident -- or cause one ourselves?

Me and my 1986 Yamaha 750 Maxim "X"

I ride a motorcycle for about 8 months of the year – I love the feeling I have when I do. 

I am a careful rider, however those driving cars can at times be distracted and not pay close attention (or see) people riding motorcycle’s.  That is why we have a greater chance of being rear-ended … or hit by someone making a left turn in front of us. 

Do I stop riding my motorcycle because of that?