Western Canada Wilderness Committee

I am writing this letter in response to your Aug.20 article (Group rallying against parks policies) to address some inaccuracies.
This government is committed to our provincial parks - the largest provincial parks system in Canada and a legacy that is renowned world wide.
Millions of people visit our parks each year, and many regional economies depend on the continued protection , enhancement, expansion and promotion of this vital public asset.
Our government inherited a vastly expanded parks system, but one with no money in place to deal with associated costs. Promising to put our provincial parks on a sound financial footing, this government after consultation with many park user group, put a new funding model in place that sees every cent spent in parks put directly back into the parks system.
The fact that we are in a position to expand the system is proof of support of new funding initiative. I am proud of this accomplishment that ensures our provincial parks will always be there for all British Columbians and our visitors from around the world.

Having read the response by Bill Barisoff to the Aug.20 article (Group rallying against parks policies), I would like to rebut some of the claims he makes about his government’s support of the parks system.

Barisoff first claims that his government “inherited a vastly expanded parks system, but with no money in place to deal with associated costs.” While it’s true that the NDP left a larger parks system behind when they left office, a report filed by the Liberals in September, 2001 entitled Economic Benefits of British Columbia’s Provincial Parks reported that parks provide $219 million in tax revenues ($97 million being provincial and $112 federal). The reported cost of the parks operations was $47 million. However, in the report of the Recreation Stewardship Panel (RSP) filed in November 2002, the estimated budget they set for parks is $43.7 million, lower than previous park budgets. So if the Liberal government is so “committed to our provincial parks”, why does a “vastly expanded parks system” have a noticeably lower budget? Simply because they have reduced provincial funding, fired many of the park rangers and withdrawn services across the board

In the RSP report, it was acknowledged that parks “already pay for themselves several times over.” But since “general economic benefits, or even general government taxation, do not directly flow to the [Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection]” and the Liberals decided not to vote to allocate the necessary funds, parks now charge day-use parking fees despite the fact that they already make money. The Liberals are looking to make even more money from an already profitable service.

As for the claim Mr.Barisoff makes that “provincial parks will always be there for all British Columbians”, I would ask how withdrawing government funding and implementing user fees is helping the public access parks? According to Max Cleevely, a ministry spokesperson, visitorship to the parks has been dropping since 1998 (especially since 2001 when the Liberals first came into power). How does funding parks with a budget determined by visitorship help to put our parks “on a sound financial footing” if statistics are showing less visitors yearly? More fees mean fewer visitors. Having personally toured many of the parks where there are new parking meters this summer, I can testify to that. Before the meters, parks provided $10 in spending for every $1 invested. Discouraging visitors with new fees simply doesn’t make sense.

Finally, the claim of “expand[ing] the system” is an odd one. When the Liberals announced the de-parking of 14,600 hectares of the nearly 72,000 hectare South Chilcotin Mountain Park on July 22, they said that they were creating a new 56,500 hectare park. This park was created by the NDP as an order in council; the Liberals merely formalized it in legislation. The only expanding they have done is to take credit for the conservation efforts of past governments and their “vastly expanded parks system”.

Mr.Barisoff puts a nice spin on the facts but the reality is that his government is not doing a very good job managing BC’s parks. Rather than rhetoric, I would ask his government to put some of our tax money where its mouth is: keep our parks public and properly protected by reinstating an adequate parks budget and getting rid of the parking meters in our parks.