BC government support of the Jumbo Glacier Resort continues to be the centre of controversy.
Yesterday, the BC Government amended Environmental Assessment regulations that no longer require ski or all-season resorts to undergo environmental assessments. Today, the Jumbo Glacier Mountain Resort Municipality(JGMRM) adopted a 5-year financial plan that includes $1 million dollars of British Columbian taxpayer dollars.
There has been widespread opposition to the million-dollar tab to fund the JGMRM. More than 1300 letters of opposition from across British Columbia were submitted during the recent public consultation. This past weekend the Association of Kootenay Boundary Local Governments (AKBLG) passed a motion opposing any further provincial funding of the empty municipality. In previous weeks, local MLAs Norm Macdonald and Michelle Mungall brought the issue to the Legislature and to Budget Estimates for the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development.
“It appears to be an attempt to keep the ill-fated Jumbo Resort proposal alive, funded by the misappropriation of British Columbian’s taxpayer dollars”, says Wildsight’s Robyn Duncan. “If these changes are indeed aimed at facilitating the Jumbo Glacier Resort, this would be the second time the government has amended existing legislation in order to do so. Previously, the provincial government allowed the creation of a municipality without residents.”
“Assessing the environmental and social impacts of any such project should be a requirement,” says Duncan. “Taking projects like Jumbo out of the Environmental Assessment process closes the door on informed decisions in regard to environmental and social impacts.
The Jumbo Glacier Resort’s Environmental Certificate was issued in 2004 with 195 legally-binding proponent commitments that must be completed prior to any construction taking place. The certificate will expire in October 2014 unless substantive construction begins on the proposed 4-season, 4-glacier resort.
“It is unclear at this point whether the government plans to ignore these 195 legally-binding conditions already in place from the extensive Environmental Assessment process that already took place”, says Duncan.
