For once, things were looking hopeful. We had a federal government promising to “meet the Aichi Biodiversity Targets to protect freshwater, marine, and coastal habitat and increase marine protected areas to 5% by 2017 and 10% by 2020.” Their Change.ca website said the Liberals would invest “in the protection of our oceans – the health of which is critical to safeguarding our environment and growing our economy. Our plan will help fish stocks recover, support eco-tourism, protect coastlines from erosion, ensure ecological integrity, and protect species at risk.” They went on to say, “We will restore Canada’s reputation as a leader in ocean science, strengthen our laws and regulations, and give communities more say in how we manage our oceans.“ We all know better than to believe in pre-election promises but it was a message that gave this region hope for recovery. The reindustrialization of Howe Sound is a loss and a danger of unimaginable proportion.
By using the Conservative’s environmental review process that had decimated the earlier and more rigorous bill, our current Prime Minister has found a way to rip the heart and hope out of his coastal constituents with his LNG announcement last week.
While Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Transport Canada have to provide permits and give the authorizations to move to the next stage, both those departments participated in the approval process in the environmental assessment. Hoping that either of these bodies will hold up the process is just wishful thinking.
Before their election, the Liberal government promised With any luck, the LNG investors, Indonesia’s Pacific Oil and Gas, will not go ahead with the project of their own accord due to low demand for LNG in China, a country now investing heavily in clean energy technology.
At deadline, I await a response from our Liberal MP Pam Goldsmith Jones, whose office says that she will be “meeting with ministers to discuss the conditions.” set by Transport Canada and Fisheries and Oceans. Surprisingly, the MPs office reported getting very few calls resulting from the LNG announcement. Accidentally rubbing salt in the wound, the Bowen Island Adventure Film Festival happened on the weekend, screening films with close up views of the fragile nature of Howe Sound. Filmmakers and photographers enjoying local adventures, showed multiple perspectives of the stunning beauty of this area from air, land, sea and underwater.
Bob Turner will be offering screenings of his film of the new Howe Sound Marine Trail for any interested organizations.
The vernal equinox is upon us, a turning point when we move from the dark days into the bright. As an unknown author wrote in a poem called Desiderata, “With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.” Happy Easter.
