Public lands belong to all British Columbians. Yet David Eby doesn’t think all British Columbians should have an equal say in how these lands are used.
The NDP has secretly launched a plan to overhaul the management of public lands in B.C. and give veto power to just five percent of the population, over 95 percent of the land in B.C.
Public land has roughly 40,000 active tenures for activities and infrastructure including agriculture, forestry, mining, and more. These changes will have massive implications for the public and our entire economy. As co-owners of public land, all British Columbians deserve to have their voices heard in the process, but the NDP, with their rushed consultation period and lack of transparency has been trying to keep people out.
BC United stands firmly against the NDP’s decision to remove public interest from land use decisions, undermine transparency and public trust, and deliver yet another blow to job creation in B.C., and we will take steps to protect the rights of all British Columbians.
BC United will rename Crown Land to ‘Public Land’ to reflect its ownership by all British Columbians and ensure that land management decisions are made by provincial representatives elected by the people in the public interest.
A Kevin Falcon-led BC United government will enforce strict timelines for public land decisions to create certainty for the public and industry.
Further, we will require transparency in decision-making and full consultation about public land, ending the NDP’s pattern of secrecy and non-disclosure agreements.
David Eby and the NDP think the government knows best and that public engagement is inconvenient.
Just last month, I wrote how ignoring public opinion and moving forward with legislation that will have massive consequences for British Columbians has become a concerning theme with this NDP government.
Send David Eby a message that you deserve to be involved in the process by providing a written submission with your feedback to landactamendments@gov.bc.ca by March 31st.