Powell River - Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons and representatives from the natural resource industries on the Sunshine Coast met in Victoria recently to discuss the land and resource management plan (LRMP) process.
Simons and Corky Evans - the New Democrat Party's opposition critic for the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources - met with District of Sechelt Mayor Cam Reid, Pan Pacific Aggregates' John Ellis, the Sunshine Coast Forest Coalition's Kevin Davie, Sechelt Creek Contracting's Ken Sneddon, forest manufacturer Rob Corlett and Dakota Ridge Winter Recreation Society's John McNevin on April 26.
They discussed how the process would involve all interested sectors.
"Some said it appeared to them I was pushing for an LRMP primarily to address conservation and environmental issues," Simons told Coast Reporter. "I assured them my motivation to push for an LRMP has always been to try to reduce conflict over land use."
Davie said in an interview the meeting with Simons was positive.
"I think we all agreed that there was a communication issue and we all agreed we would get together more often to talk about these issues," Davie said. Davie is involved in forming the new Sunshine Coast Resource Business Association.
"What we want to do is provide education to the public [about LRMPs]," Davie said. "It's not a defined, single process. Some people think LRMPs are for making parks, and they're not."
The province's intention for creating LRMPs was to finalize land use issues, he said. He noted two past land use planning processes on the Coast had failed. This time, the process will have a local committee, but he noted the LRMP would cover the entire Sunshine Coast timber supply area, including Powell River, Campbell River, Courtenay and Comox communities, along with a number of First Nation bands.
"Some think it's a local LRMP and they're basically not," McNevin said in an interview. "If you're going to have an effective LRMP the whole community has to be involved in them. They're very effective but all the actors have to be together on talking about it."
Resource industries on the Coast include forestry, mining, pulp and paper, aquaculture, farming and hydro power producers, states a S.C. Resource Business Association press release.
"The purpose of the meeting was to update our MLA regarding the impact of local resource industries on the Sunshine Coast," the release states. "Discussions included land use planning and the need for active community involvement to ensure that all the stakeholders in resource use are involved and represented in any process The participants concluded agreeing that much community education regarding Land Resource Management Planning is needed on the Coast. LRMPs are about managing our timber supply and can have a serious impact on a vast area from the head of Bute Inlet, including Courtenay and Campbell River."
Also on April 26, Simons met with Heather Mac-Knight, regional executive director of the Integrated Land Management Bureau (ILMB), which is a branch of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, and Peter Jones, ILMB manager of client services. The LRMP process will begin with discussions about goals and expectations, Simons said, between the ministry, local governments, First Nations, community groups, industry representatives and any other interested parties in the forest district.
"We acknowledged that an LRMP isn't going to resolve all the current conflicts," Simons reported.
"It's a long process, and requires further commitment from the government to ensure that the process is adequately funded and fair. We talked about some of the current land use conflicts in the Powell River area as well as on the Lower Sunshine Coast and how the LRMP process would not be able to address them specifically. We will be discussing them separately."
