Environment minister’s assurances on protection of parks don’t mollify enviros

SATURDAY MORNING EDITORIAL — The Park Amendment Act passed into law two months ago is not going to open up provincial parks and protected areas to industrial projects, says Environment Minister Mary Polak.

That’s good news, because the legislation has had a lot of environmentalists worried.

“I want to be absolutely clear,” Polak said Friday, “the Park Amendment Act does not allow, promote or otherwise enable industrial projects in provincial parks and protected areas.

“Suggestions that future industrial operations will be allowed in parks are simply not true. There will be no drilling, no mining, no forestry, no transmission lines and no gas wells in our parks.”

In April, the Kamloops Naturalist Club went on record as strongly opposing the rerouting of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion through the sensitive and protected Lac du Bois grasslands.

It urged Polak to clarify changes to the Parks Act with respect to industrial activity, saying some sections of the amendments were vague.

“It must be made clear that there will be no issuance of permits to undertake inventories of natural resources for purposes of exploitation or harvest,” KNC president Jean Crowe said in a letter to Polak.

West Coast Environmental Law said at the time Kinder Morgan had already obtained park use permits to research routes through five parks and protected areas, including Lac du Bois and North Thompson River Park.

Friday, Polak stated the amended act “formally authorize(s) low-impact research activities to take place so that we can gain a better understanding of potential impacts to parks.

“Research permits are only issued for low-impact activities like soil sampling or installing gauges.”

Environmentalists don’t seem mollified. The Wilderness Committee remains steadfastly opposed, and protests are planned in several provincial parks today (Saturday) marking Canada Parks Day. The Sierra Club of B.C. and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society want the act repealed.

In May, 166,000 people signed a petition to that effect.

Polak’s comments Friday were meant to assuage those concerns. Like so many other things, the proof will be in the pudding of Polak’s reassurances.