Public lands need to be managed for the future
British Columbians are among the world's most fortunate citizens. By the very fact of being resident in this province, we are custodians of a tremendously valuable asset.
British Columbia is unique in that 94% of the province is publicly owned. The majority of the province is Crown land, owned by the people of this province.
A recent Vancouver Sun article placed the value of these lands at a trillion dollars, a massive sum to be sure. But to those of us who live here, who work, hunt, hike in the woods, or kayak or fish in our streams and lakes, we know that this land is, in fact, invaluable.
As the owners of this land, people in this area feel strongly that we must protect our asset and ensure that each action taken on our private land benefits primarily those who own it.
Without vigilance we will lose this asset. Like the giveaway of BC Rail, irresponsible governments make decisions that allow private interests to take over our public assets.
But we also need to invest in managing our crown land. Owning such a valuable asset comes with real responsibilities. We must be good stewards of our forests, our water and our other natural resources.
Budget cuts and reductions to ministry staff are reducing our capacity to understand what is happening on the land. We have also fallen desperately behind in replanting and silviculture work that is needed in our forests.
People here tell me that they want a government that will protect our public lands. They tell me that we need to invest in forest health. They tell me that they don't want our rivers given away to private power producers.
And they tell me that our public lands should not just be managed for us today, but also for future generations.
When I look back on 2010, one of the biggest political stories of the year was the success of the citizens’ initiative against the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). Political pundits said it couldn’t be done, but British Columbians proved them wrong.
Hundreds of thousands of citizens signed a petition demanding the cancellation of the HST, a tax that the BC Liberals created despite their promise not to do so. That successful petition forced the government to agree to hold a referendum on the HST. It also appears that the success of the campaign ultimately resulted in the resignation of the Premier.
British Columbians fought and won a battle to have their voices heard on this important issue.
But how is it that the BC Liberals felt that they could get away with forcing the HST on you in the first place? How could the BC Liberals state absolutely that they would not implement the HST, and then turn around and do it?
How could they push the HST legislation through the Legislature even though it was clear that British Columbians were against it? Why did the BC Liberal MLAs not vote the will of their constituents?
The HST debacle seems to indicate that we have reached a point in British Columbia where our democratic system is in crisis. I think we all agree that we have to make some changes to the way our government functions.
Based on my experience in the Legislature, I have three ideas about how we can begin to improve the legislative system in this province.
I believe that we need to change the way we elect MLAs. We need to change our voting system to a mixed member proportional representation system that would make the Legislature more diverse and force elected members to be more responsive to the will of the people.
I am also committed to strengthening the Legislative committee system which would increase consultation and bi-partisan cooperation in the development of legislation.
And I believe that we must reverse the erosion of our tools of oversight such as the Office of the Ombudsman, the Auditor General, the Children’s Representative and the Freedom of Information office. The ability of these organizations to operate fully is critical to the function of our democracy.
What do you think about these ideas? What would you do to strengthen our democracy?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Please get in touch by phoning 1 866 870 4188 or by emailing norm.macdonald.mla@leg.bc.ca.