Unfortunate news.. but here's a link: http://www.vancouverobserver.com/new...parks-industry

I wrote up a blog post on the topic, but I'm not sure if linking here would violate any site guidelines so I'll just cross-post one of my core conclusions:

BCGEU has launched a facebook campaign to tell the premier to rescind the Park Act amendments.

This amendment is meant for NOrthern gateWAY and LNG. A big concession to allow them to "research" and ultimately build all their pipelines through the parks. After all, they're just in the way of Big Carbon.

[V] Wonderful news [V]

Is it any surprise Canada is in the basement (among industrial countries) when it comes to environmental protection?

http://www.environmentalindicators.c...cs/execsum.htm

the U.S. is doing similar things. The latest ploy is to turn back federal parkland to state jurisdiction so that the federal budget is relieved of the maintenance. Unfortunately, the state economies are strapped and cannot afford the additional parks so bring on the concessionaires or they simple shutter the access.

The LNG export idea is insane. If it goes ahead, BC would end up deeper in debt, our natural gas depleted, and water polluted.

CBC radio was saying this morning that proposed changes to the agricultural land reserve would allow for new pipelines etc.

The changes would allow oil and n.gas exploration and drilling on agricultural land. :/

Changes to Parks Act.
Changes to ALR.
All to allow new oil and gas pipelines, etc.

Nothing new there, oil and gas exploration has been happening on agricultural land for decades, at least since the 1950s. And it's relatively inocuous...build a pad, do some drilling, dig a trench, lay a pipeline, replace the soil and grow crops again. You only lose a small area (maybe 60 x60 feet square) for the wellhead, and an access road. My sister has several wells on her farmland, and the $$ they get for the rent more than makes up for the lost value of the crops they can't grow off that small area.

Pipeline corridors through parks, where the forest is permanently removed, that's a different story.

A big reason behind the ALR changes, I believe, is pushing through with Site C.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/met...801/story.html

The fracking, proposed pipelines and LNG plants would all use a lot of electricity, so Site C would be needed.

We are watching BC go down into an economic/environmental sinkhole.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/379/085/605/

Sign the Petition ...

Write to our BC Minister of Env, Honourable Mary Polak: env.minister@gov.bc.ca

This S&^* is unbelievable

Heh, Mary Polak got taken before the Supreme Court of Canada back when she tried to ban books depicting same-sex marriage as a trustee on the Surrey school board. No amount of letters are going to reverse this bill, not unless they have a big fat paycheque attached.

The pipeline corridors won't be in parks. The land will be removed from the parks first.