On Saturday at 11 a.m. boats of various types and sizes will be gathering in Wood Bay to rally against Pan Pacific Aggregates' proposed conveyor belt and loading facility for shipping out industrial minerals. Although at first glance this site near Secret Cove doesn't appear to have many residents, the number of people who have been rallying together to protect it is huge. The volume of opposition to the Wood Bay conveyor clearly shows the surrounding community does not support the proposal. The Save Our Sunshine Coast citizens' group is organizing the boat rally event to get the word out through the media of its opposition to the proposed mine.
What sticks out about this Wood Bay group is that they are not your typical naysayers. The people who normally go about their busy lives without getting involved in political issues or turning out to public meetings have suddenly become activists because they are so impassioned about protecting this piece of paradise.
And the group may not even include all the weekenders, who come to their recreational properties to escape from the city and may not know what's going on other than there's a large sign beside the highway that reads Save Wood Bay.Pan Pacific maintains the mine will create jobs and boost the local economy. The same could be said for tourism, which a large-scale mining operation could threaten.
Regardless of how many environmental tests are done on the proposed mining operation, the fact remains that the community does not appear to want industry in its neighbourhood. I suspect if all the approvals go through, we'll see the same lineup of pleasure crafts blocking the first ship loaded with industrial minerals from leaving its port in Wood Bay.
The public opposition to the mining proposal is on the provincial government's radar. What they will do with it remains to be seen.
And whether the boat rally will impact the outcome of the proposed conveyor is hard to say. But this unique style of protest will go down in the area's history for trying its best to prevent industrial development.
Various groups on the Coast have been actively fighting this mining proposal for more than a year, beginning with the Stop It Sechelt group whose slogan was to "make waves." This weekend those groups will literally be making waves to demonstrate their opposition to the mine.
