Bowen Bulletin

Occasionally an elected official does something so outrageous that you really have to call them on it. No it isn’t anybody on Bowen. It’s Rich Coleman, our provincial Minister of Forests and Ranges. He has given away something in the order of hundreds of millions of dollars. The only reason that I can figure that he thought he could get away with it is that the details of the story are so esoteric and convoluted that the average reporter wouldn’t think they could keep the attention of the average reader long enough to tell the story. But luckily, I have very intelligent readers who love a good who-done-it. And so our story begins….

Back in the 1940s the government of B.C. started negotiating with forest companies to set up forest management licences. Over the years they evolved into our modern tree farm licences (TFLs). The deal was that the forest company allowed the Crown to administer their land as if it were Crown land and the Crown would allow the timber company exclusive rights to log a huge area of Crown land. The idea was to ensure that logging in BC would be properly managed. Originally these deals were supposed to last until the end of time, but now it is acknowledged that as times change a forest company might want out of the contract. Now the forest company can take back its land and give up its right to the Crown land. 

In January, Rich Coleman signed the documents that removed 70,000 acres of land from three tree farm licences held by Western Forest Products (WFP). He gave them back all the land that they had put into the tree farms but he neglected to take back the company’s virtually exclusive access to the timber on over a million acres of crown land. The removed land can be logged without any regard for the sustainability of the larger forest or the forest industry. After 3 years the raw logs can be shipped offshore for milling. 

This enormous gift may have gone virtually unnoticed, modification of TFLs are at the Minister’s discretion. Only when there is a change in land use objectives is there supposed to be a consultative process with the communities involved. It turns out that 6,300 acres of the land handed back to Western Forest Products not only falls into this category, it could also be used to write a definition of all the things that could be considered public interest. The land in question is the southern edge of Vancouver Island between Sooke and Port Renfrew. It is described as 6,300 acres of some of British Columbia’s most amazing property, with 5 km. of waterfront, hillsides with staggering views of the Straight of Juan de Fuca and 1,000,000 cubic metres of marketable timber. 

When Mr. Coleman issued a press release in late January announcing his grand giveaway he expounded on how he had preserved the public interest by including conditions around First Nation’s access, log exports, wildlife habitat, community watersheds, recreation, etc. but these conditions only applied to WFP. If they sold the land only the raw log export condition would apply to a new owner. WFP immediately put the 6,300 acres on the market. 

Imagine an area ten times the size of Cape Roger Curtis and just as beautiful. Now imagine how you would feel if you found out that the provincial government had just given the green light for clear cut logging. That’s how the surfers who flock to Jordon River feel. That’s how the society that has been working for years to establish greenways for migrating wildlife feels. People as diverse as those who have worked so hard to protect the Sooke Potholes area to the local members of forestry unions are demanding answers. The communities whose watersheds are in jeopardy have added their voice to the local ratepayers association to ask why they weren’t consulted. The local First Nations are up in arms. In a previous, similar case the court ruled that the provincial government had a duty to consult local First Nations. Mr. Coleman’s failure to comply leaves the Province open to litigation. 

So what can be done to undo this mess? Absolutely nothing, Minister Rich Coleman has signed off on the deal and there is no way to get the property back. The strip of coastline destined to be more important than the Ucluelet / Tofino corridor already has a prospective buyer. 

All that can be done is to ask the Auditor General to examine what happened here and take to task the responsible parties. Just such a request went in last Friday and we are now waiting to see if the Auditor General will launch an investigation. 

By the way, if you’re wondering what 6,300 acres of paradise sells for, the rumour is that the accepted offer is for $55,000,000. Not bad when you consider that the timber alone is worth $25,000,000. 

(for complete details go to www.elc.uvic.ca/ELC-auditor-general-documents.html)