Columbia River - Revelstoke MLA Norm Maconald and members of the Opposition Rural Caucus are pushing for legislation that would see off-road vehicles such as ATV's and snowmobiles licensed and registered.
A detailed list of recommendations for registration, licensing and management of off-road vehicles was composed by the Coalition for Licensing and Registration of Off-road Vehicles in B.C. (ORV Coalition) in 2005. The legislation was supposed to go to cabinet in 2006, but has since remained on the back-burner.
Macdonald said it is time something was done on the issue. "For rural residents, registration and licensing of off-road vehicles is an important issue. This is an issue that has been raised again and again," he said.
The East Kootenay comprises of some of the best terrain for off-road vehicles, and for environmental, safety and legal reasons, it still remains an important rural issue.
Toby Creek Adventures owner Scott Barsby agrees, though said safety issues were the main thing that needed to be addressed.
"The biggest thing is that there are no laws in B.C. telling people to wear a helmet," he said. "There are no rules so anyone can run around without being able to be ticketed for it."
If passed the new legislation would see annual licensing of all off-road vehicles used on public land for public recreation, as well as require the use of safety equipment such as helmets, impose a legal age and conditions of operation, and enforce regulatory behaviour.
But Barsby insists enforcement isn't always necessary. "We're out there a majority of the time and what we see right now is respectful user groups, and we've hardly seen misconduct of machinery so far. We see the odd bad apple but that's healable," he said.
Improving the sport and the environment through change were main ideas behind the ORV Coalition, which formed in 2002. Among changes in the recommendations was limiting the amount of environmental damage caused by off-road vehicles and ensuring vehicles are properly maintained and recorded in case of injury or theft.