B.C. government consultant Barry Penner has completed his report on the dock management situation in Pender Harbour. The report is being reviewed by the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
Penner is a former B.C. attorney general, environment minister and Aboriginal relations and reconciliation minister. He was hired by the province to make non-binding recommendations to the B.C. government on how to proceed with the draft of the Pender Harbour Dock Management Plan, which was introduced to the community last April.
Penner was not available for comment, but Vivian Thomas, the ministry’s communications director, confirmed that the report had been received and said the ministry will be “reviewing [Penner’s] recommendations and considering options before sharing [the report] more broadly.”
Thomas could not specify when – or if – the report will be made public.
Leonard Lee, chair of the community’s dock management plan working group, said he has not seen the report yet.
“We would like to see it acknowledged that the proposed Pender Harbour Dock Management Plan is not driven by environmental or archaeological concerns but is actually a land claims issue.”
Lee said the working group would also like to see the moratorium on the renewal of existing water lot leases and the issuance of new water lot leases within Pender Harbour lifted. The moratorium has been in place for more than 10 years.
“There is no logical reason for the moratorium as no irreversible damage is being done to the environment,” Lee said. “There is no resource being destroyed. There is nothing unique to Pender Harbour in the way of archaeological or environmental issues.”
The Sechelt Indian Band (SIB) is negotiating with the province for co-management of Pender Harbour’s foreshore, the area below the high tide mark.
If the joint draft plan between the SIB and the provincial government goes through, it would require anyone who wanted to build a new dock in Pender Harbour – or renovate or relocate an existing one – to file an application with the SIB as well as the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
The shíshálh have said they would charge an annual administrative fee for any new dock tenures and could require a detailed archaeological assessment of the foreshore near any dock.
Pender Harbour residents are at odds with the draft plan, particularly with the part that outlaws new docks in Gunboat Bay.
