Introduction
Since 2011, the SCCA has provided all candidates engagement opportunities for Sunshine Coast voters to hear from candidates on environmental issues with written Q&A. This year we framed the Q&A in terms of how BC government ministries and mandates intersect with the environment. We hope the background information provided along with the questions helps inform both the candidates’ responses, and public awareness.
We posed four questions to candidates on the following topics:
➡️ BC Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship
➡️ BC Ministry of Forests
➡️ BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy
➡️ BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation
You can read all the questions with candidate responses from October 3rd on our main page for the 2024 Provincial Election.
Background
Healthy watersheds are essential for protecting ecosystems, species, biodiversity, human health, communities and economies. Protecting, restoring and maintaining healthy watersheds and ecosystem services (rather than building and managing expensive engineered infrastructure) is one of the cheapest and simplest climate solutions available to us.
The SCCA has spent nearly three decades working with the public, NGOs, local, provincial and first nations governments to protect watersheds on the Sunshine Coast from impacts of logging, mining and development. Meanwhile, increased community demand on water supply (population growth) and recurring drought (climate change) have resulted in growing “water deficits” for communities and ecosystems.
The BC government is the primary decision maker on land use activities in public forests, streams and shorelines. First Nations governments are increasingly gaining decision making authority through government to government agreements and implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA).
Local governments are responsible for providing fresh water for communities and fish, dealing with impacts of upstream industrial activities on downstream communities and infrastructure, while at the same time ensuring housing needs are met (development) for growing populations. While local governments carry most of the burden and costs associated with impacts of land use, they have little to no authority over Crown land use decisions.
Over the last decade, the BC government has begun to develop legislative and regulatory tools and funding streams to support watershed, biodiversity and ecosystem protection. Some examples include the BC Water Sustainability Act, Water Sustainability Plans, Watershed Boards, the BC Watershed Security Strategy and Fund.
Legislative and regulatory tools are important. However, without strong political will to ensure these tools are implemented and strong enough to achieve conservation goals, the tools themselves are meaningless. And, without adequate funding to support implementation, the First Nations, local governments, NGOs and community members doing the work to protect watersheds will not be able to keep up with land use impacts and rising costs of climate change.
Question for Candidates
Is watershed security a priority for your political party? If elected, will you work to champion legislative and policy reform and increase provincial investments in watershed security, starting with growing the watershed security fund? Will you support local governments, regional districts, First Nations and community stakeholders to strengthen watershed-level planning, management, and coordination through the creation of a local Watershed Board?
Useful Resources
- Our educational campaign on Watersheds and our Water Supply
- History of the SCCA campaigns to protect the Chapman Creek Watershed
- Our project to protect the West Howe Sound Watershed
- Ch’ḵw’elhp-Gibson Creek Restoration project
- Read about our Fisheries Sensitive Watersheds project