Since the heady days of the Clayoquot Sound logging blockades, few issues on Vancouver Island have triggered such public outrage as the proposed sale of thousands of hectares of forestland on Victoria's doorstep. That outrage only intensified last month after B.C. Auditor General John Doyle issued a blistering report criticizing the provincial government for failing to consider the public interest when granting Western Forest Products (WFP) the right to sell these lands.
When news of a potential buyer surfaced last year, hundreds of woodworkers, environmentalists, First Nations and outdoor enthusiasts protested at community meetings and before elected municipal and regional councils from the provincial capitol, through Sooke, Jordan River and Otter Point.
Surfers and loggers alike correctly saw that the sale would mean a proliferation of houses and roads where forests once stood, and an end to carefully developed regional growth plans that embraced sustainable development by limiting urban sprawl.
Mending a broken social contract
The controversy goes back to January 2007, when the provincial government gave debt-ridden WFP permission to break a long-standing social contract. That social contract saw forest companies get generous tax breaks and access to public timber in exchange for bundling their private holdings into tree-farm licenses and managing both their private and public forestlands under the same set of rules. By allowing WFP to decouple its private forestlands from B.C.'s publicly managed forest resources, the province set the stage for the company to sell the lands for so-called "higher and better uses," a move that could potentially see WFP's shareholders reap a $70 million windfall.
It now falls to newly appointed Forests Minister Pat Bell to deal with the mess left by his predecessor Rich Coleman. With an election less than a year away, Bell has little time to make it right. But make it right he can, and here's how.
Create a Forest Land Reserve. First, Bell ought to consider the long-standing practice of protecting B.C. farmlands through the Agricultural Land Reserve. If the ALR limits non-farm developments on privately owned farmlands, why not a Forest Land Reserve that does the same for private forestlands?
Give local governments clout. Second, demonstrate that the province is serious about letting regional and municipal governments call the shots on lands properly in their jurisdiction. The Capital Regional District passed a zoning bylaw limiting housing development on the lands that WFP proposes to sell. But Community Services Minister Ida Chong took so long to approve the CRD's down-zoning that WFP was able to apply to subdivide the lands under the old rules. Bell needs to do what Coleman failed to: defend the interests of regional governments at the cabinet table. Otherwise, company shareholders will win and the public will end up saddled with the costs.
Level the public-private playing field. Finally, Bell can win the support of woodworkers and environmentalists alike by declaring that public and private forestlands will be managed under similar rules. Yes, this means higher costs for private forestland owners (some of who have publicly boasted of the lack of regulations governing their activities). But private forestland owners also pay low property taxes and no stumpage or timber-cutting fees. They have, and always will have, a leg-up on companies operating exclusively on public forestlands.
If Bell tackles one coastal issue during his brief tenure as forests minister, the private forestlands question is one that has broad public interest. Let's hope he hears what the public is saying.
Related Tyee stories:
- Forest Minister's Brother High in Firm Granted Tree Farm Deal
WFP's Stan Coleman: 'no involvement' with brother Rich's move to help his company. - Surfers versus Suburb
As Coleman's land deal is probed, a wave of anger builds. - 'Growth Is Coming': Developer Floats Plan for Jordan River
Town of 10,000 sketched for controversial forest land release.
Read more: Environment
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