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Liberals'
'New Era' could be beginning of the end for some ecosystems
By
Jeff Gailus
for Headwaters News
When it comes to the environment, British Columbia’s
Liberal government makes George W. Bush’s Republicans look like
died-in-the-wool conservationists.
Since routing the New Democrats last May, Liberal leader Gordon Campbell
has slashed budgets, eradicated government jobs, eliminated regulations,
and privatized services in what one senior policy analyst has called
"a recipe for environmental disaster."
"Unprecedented cuts to the ministries responsible for environmental
protection jeopardize the natural beauty and diversity of life that
are a source of pride and joy for so many B.C. residents," says
David Boyd, a senior associate with the University of Victoria's Eco-Research
Chair in Environmental Law and Policy, and an adjunct professor in
the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser
University.
"In the span of a few short years, British Columbia has gone
from a national centre of environmental excellence and innovation
to a laggard on par with Ontario, Canada's most polluted province
and home of the Walkerton tainted water disaster," he said.
A lagging economy and a series of scandals, including the police investigation
and subsequent conviction of then-Premier Glen Clark for awarding
a conditional casino license to a neighbor, allowed B.C.’s Liberals
to snap up 76 of 79 seats in the province’s Legislature, ending
10 years of NDP rule and introducing a "we’ll do whatever
we want" attitude, second only to that displayed by Alberta’s
Progressive Conservative government.
The Liberals won on a "New Era" platform of "vision,
imagination, hope and prosperity." But a projected deficit of
$10 billion (Canadian) in the next four years – largely a result
of its own tax cuts – inspired the Liberals to slash the budget,
decimating the ministries and departments responsible for environmental
protection.
Cuts to the Ministry of Water, Land and Air, and the Ministry of Sustainable
Resource Management range from 30 percent to 40 percent. These cuts
are on top of the 35 percent that was cut from the environment budget
during Glen Clark’s reign. In total, B.C.'s environment budget
has dropped 60 to 70 percent in less than a decade.
-- Tom Burgess, retired provincial
biologist
Budget cuts almost always translate into fewer jobs.
The three ministries responsible for environmental protection in
B.C. will lose a total of 2,382 employees. The Ministry of Water,
Land and Air will lose 401 of 1,298 employees (31 percent), the
Ministry of Sustainable Resource Development will lose 548 of 1,508
( 36 percent), and the Ministry of Forests will lose 1,433 of 4,061
(35 percent).
These cuts will affect everything from interpretation in parks to
identifying and protecting habitat for endangered species like the
woodland caribou.
"There will be only 225 staff left for the entire province,
charged with the responsibility of maintaining fish and wildlife
populations and their habitats and providing us with various opportunities
to enjoy them," wrote retired provincial biologist Tom Burgess,
in a six-page report he compiled from government sources.
True to their words – Liberal politicians pledged to "do
away with constraints on economic development," "eliminate
regulations to facilitate industry competitiveness," and "approve
projects in a more timely, cost-effective and certain fashion"
– the Liberal government also has embarked on a program of
deregulation and privatization that will put the integrity of B.C.’s
environment at serious risk.
According to Boyd, one-third of the regulations protecting B.C.’s
air, water, forests, and wildlife will be removed, and the environmental
assessment process, which ensures commercial and industrial activities
do not unduly harm the natural environment, will be "streamlined."
In the wake of intensifying public criticism, Minister of Water,
Land and Air Protection Joyce Murray said the government had no
choice but to implement its downsizing program.
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B.C.
Liberals take on native bands, doctors and a widening budget chasm
By
Greg Lakes, editor
Headwaters News
April 10, 2002
Premier Gordon Campbell's Liberal government has had
its hands full since it took over from the previous and hugely unpopular
New Democrats.
Campbell and company vowed to cut costs, red tape and government
largesse, and to reverse B.C.'s economic slide. It's been a rare
week without a crisis since.
A round of tax cuts were followed by predictions of a $4.4 million
deficit. The Liberals responded with plans to raise sales and cigarette
taxes, a violation of campaign promises.
Campbell ordered a review of government contracts with doctors,
college employees and health-care workers, and rolled back locked-in
salaries.
Unions have recently launched a national ad campaign accusing
Campbell of being untrustworthy and urging investors to shy
away from B.C.
Cambell's
response was that salary cuts merely scaled back costs to reasonable
levels for "the highest-paid nurses in the country, the second-highest-paid
teachers in the country or health-care workers that are paid 30
percent more than the national average."
Meanwhile, the economy continues to take a beating from the U.S.
tariffs on softwood lumber imports. Canadian negotiators last month
walked away from demands they deemed unreasonable and the U.S. set
a 29 percent duty to take effect in May.
The interim tariff has already cost
B.C. companies 15,000 jobs, and although some industry spokesman
have called for a corresponding decrease in the price of crown lumber,
most observers' forecasts are gloomy, at best.
Campbell's Liberals inherited an Indian claims stalemate and has
fanned the simmering issue into a hot debate. They campaigned on
a promise to solicit public input on treaty negotiations and drafted
a mail-in referendum that has drawn criticism from a variety of
quarters.
Officials say the referendum is an exercise in direct democracy,
but critics call it a mockery guaranteed
to prevent any agreement for generations.
Some 51 B.C. Indian bands claim almost all of the province as their
ancestral lands, and a decade and $500 million of negotiations has
produced no agreement.
The referendum includes eight questions that reflect government
positions on bargaining points, including whether to phase out tax
exemptions for natives; refuse to expropriate private property for
settlements; restrict Indian self-government to the same powers
as a city; let everyone hunt, fish and recreate on Crown land; make
parks open to all British Columbians; and apply provincial environmental
standards to native lands.
Tribal leaders and advocates have alleged the
questions are loaded, the language is leading and some of the
authority in question is beyond the scope of the provincial government.
And government officials say that while they'll heed a majority
of yes answers, they'll not be bound by a negative vote.
One of the government's latest developments is a plan to allow
oil and gas drilling off B.C.'s coast. Untapped reserves are
thought to be approximately 10 billion barrels of oil and 26 trillion
cubic feet of natural gas, which would be more than double the deposits
off the Newfoundland coast.
B.C. imposed a moratorium on offshore drilling in the 1950s, lifted
it for a a few years to allow exploration in the late 1960s, and
reimposed it in 1972.
Campbell said lifting the moratorium is a priority for his administration.
He also said he'll encourage coalbed methane development throughout
B.C. and further development of the Ladyfern field in the province's
northeast corner, all of which could combine to make B.C. a major
energy producer.
But the Haida Nation has filed suit with the Supreme Court, asking
to be recognized as sole owner of the Queen Charlotte Islands and
all the oil beneath.
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