To: The Honourable Terry Lake, Minister of the Environment,

BC Parks has ignored the decision of its own Strathcona Park Public Advisory Committee (SPPAC) to turn down an application by Clayoquot Wilderness Resort (CWR) to construct and operate a private horse operation in that park. Instead they have 'mitigated' (to make less severe, serious, or painful) the committee's No into a questionable Yes.

Back in 1988 the provincial government was surprised by the outpouring of negative public sentiment against mineral exploration drilling in Strathcona Park. A months long blockade of the drill site resulted in many concerned citizens being arrested for merely protecting the park from industrial activity. The massive media coverage embarrassed the government into stopping the exploration, and eventually to remove all mineral claims in the park. To prevent similar events from happening in the future, a Master Plan for the park and a Public Advisory Committee came into being.

The Master Plan was formulated by a committee of equal numbers of government and public members. SPPAC members were to represent the public interest in park affairs. They are appointed by the government from varying backgrounds and professions to reflect a wide range of public viewpoints. Thus the Master Plan and SPPAC became the public's safeguard against government misadventures.

This framework worked well for about 15 years, until 2006 when CWR applied to BC Parks to extend their private operations into the park. It is said that governments have a memory of about 10 years, after which they tend to repeat mistakes of the past. They unilaterally changed the Master Plan to allow the application to move forward. They did not form a committee of equal numbers of government and public members as they did when the Plan was originally created. Instead they went ahead on their own and changed the Plan in 2010, disregarding the rejection of the amendment by SPPAC. Recently they also turned a blind eye to SPPAC's unanimous rejection of of CWR's application.

The government's answer to this is that they have 'mitigated' SPPAC's rejections by incorporating some of SPPAC's ideas into their plans. The government seems pleased by this approach,... they can say they have consulted with the public, and are now ready to move forward.

This misuse of public input by our government, especially that of their own Public Advisory Committee, does not fool the Friends of Strathcona Park. If the new Minister of the Environment were to re-submit their mitigated Master Plan Amendment of 2010 and the CWR Park Use Permit Application to SPPAC, and they approved both, then the Friends would need to abide by their decision.

No one, especially the Friends, wants a repeat of 1988. We urge the new Minister to please reconsider their recent misguided decisions, and take public input seriously.

Bob St.John
Director, Friends of Strathcona Park
Comox, BC V9M 2B7
250-890-0780