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Park proponents push for Class A designation
by Neil Horner - Parksville Qualicum Beach News •
Thursday April 20, 2006 at 03:45 PM
The parking lot may not be going in, but protesters at Cathedral Grove say the decision could be reversed at any time unless the 21-hectare site is transformed into a Class A park.
Park proponents push for Class A designation By NEIL HORNER Parksville Qualicum Beach News Reporter Apr 18 2006 The parking lot may not be going in, but protesters at Cathedral Grove say the decision could be reversed at any time unless the 21-hectare site is transformed into a Class A park. Speaking at a special cleanup and celebration at the main base camp for the protesters, Western Canada Wilderness Committee spokesperson Annette Tanner says while she is pleased at the government’s decision to back off on the parking lot, she wants legislation to protect the site.
“The first step is to make this a Class A park,” she says, noting that efforts to preserve MacMillan Provincial Park began back in the 1860s. This was echoed by Friends of Cathedral Grove organizer Richard Boyce, who was supervising the demolition of the eight platforms used by tree sitters during their two-year fight. “The government classed this as a recreation area so they could put the parking lot in and then the plan was to legislate it into a Class A park afterwards,” he says.
The provincial government’s Class A designation severely limits what kinds of activities can take place in a park. Scott Fraser, the NDP MLA for Alberni-Qualicum, says he plans to push the government to change the designation as soon as he is able. “This was an obvious omission.” Fraser, who took a turn at climbing one of the giant trees Saturday, says he has several options to push the issue. First, he favours simply talking to the minister, Barry Penner, about the issue. Then, if a joint agreement isn’t possible, he could he could either raise the issue in question period or raise it as a private member’s bill.
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