Premier Gordon Camp-bell paid a rare business-related visit to the Coast last week.
Campbell, who has a home on the Coast, is often here relaxing and enjoying time away from political life. Last Friday, Campbell was in Sechelt to visit with the Sunshine Coast - Powell River B.C. Liberal riding association and spoke at their volunteer appreciation reception.
After meeting with the riding association board members, mingling with guests and posing for photos, Campbell addressed the crowd before heading off to Campbell River to speak at the B.C. Liberal Vancouver Island regional forum."It's great to be back in Sechelt and here today to say thanks to all of you," Campbell said. "We had a great candidate in 2005. We had a tough election in 2005. But it's because of all of you and others like you that we did so well in 2005. I want to thank Maureen [Clayton] for her dedication and commitment."
Campbell said he committed to being the buddy MLA for the Sunshine Coast in his meeting with the board.
"That means I'm asking the executive to think about the things they want me to focus on, the things I can be helpful with," Campbell said. "I think the executive will do a wonderful job because it's a great executive and a great group of volunteers."
Prior to the reception, Campbell conducted a 20-minute sit down interview at the offices of Coast Reporter.
Coast Reporter asked Campbell several issue-related questions about items of concern on the Sunshine Coast.
Coast Reporter: What would an LRMP bring to all the interest groups on the Coast, i.e. environmentalists and forestry companies?
Premier Gordon Campbell: The focus of an LRMP is really to bring together everyone who puts demands on the land base. It's all about how we live together in a sustainable, sensible, sound manner that will include First Nations and industry and community groups. We've just had two very successful LRMPs for the Central Coast and the North Coast where First Nations particularly played an active role in that. What it really brings to people is a sense of confidence about their future. So there are places where there will not be activity taking place. They'll be protected areas. They'll be places where logging might be allowed, others where tourism opportunities might be protected. All of those things are long processes, but I think we're about to get underway here and I think they'll be benefits for everyone on the Coast by just getting that sense of certainty and framework for the future that meets the needs and the values of the Sunshine Coast.
CR: The Pan Pacific mining proposal is a major concern to this community. What is your response to the community's concerns over the proposed mining operation near Sechelt?
GC: My understanding is they are in the environmental assessment office with the first step, and it will take a number of months of consultation and study. Bill Bennett, who is the minister of state for mining, will be coming up to meet with the community, I believe sometime in April. The environmental assess-ment process is a pretty thorough and complete process and people are invited to put in their comments and concerns. It's a long way away and there is still a lot of work to be done before anything is approved. If the community has concerns they should be recognized. We should recognize that it's a permitted use. It's not just a matter of going in and doing whatever you want.
The environmental ass-essment process takes into consideration First Nations issues, water issues, land issues, wildlife issues - a whole series of issues. It's a pretty thorough process.
CR: Does the province plan to ever officially acknowledge the watershed agreement between the SCRD and the SIB?
GC: I think it's an important step. One of the things we're trying to do in British Columbia is enhance and restore our watersheds in lots of cases. Certainly we don't want them to be degraded. I think the community and the Sechelt Indian Band particularly have been very actively engaged in that and the agreement gives us a foundation that we can move ahead with.
I haven't talked to Barry Penner [Minister of Environment] about officially acknowledging the plan, but I can certainly find out about that. I should say that we want to move with a more comprehensive water policy for the whole province. It's one of the interesting challenges we face. We've launched an issue around energy and electricity and how much we need and how much we're consuming and the fact that we're importers. To a lot of people it's news to them that we import electricity. It's the same thing with water. We use an awful lot of water. We know that a number of the watersheds have not been maintained and enhanced the way we'd like them to be. We've set a goal for ourselves with regards to water across the province and I think that Minister Penner will be outlining a pretty comprehensive water policy in the months ahead.
CR: Recreation is another issue that is facing our citizens and governments. Are there some funding initiatives available for projects like Dakota Ridge, the new pool and new recreation centre?
GC: We said at the UBCM last September that we're ready to work with the federal government to define what the next step will be. I was just in Ottawa last week and they are aware of the demands of what the communities need. I don't have a cheque book with me today, but we're certainly aware of the demands of what the local communities are facing. What we'd like to see is another tri-party infrastructure program.
