Pulling in the same direction: What the amalgamation of Rec Sites and Trails and BC Parks means for recreation
Credit: Revelstoke Climbers Access Society
Since British Columbia became a province in 1871, the lands-focused ministry has gone by many different names, and its responsibilities have been equally diverse, including everything from encouraging European settlement to mining operations. It was only in 1949 that parks and recreation became its own division and not until 1975 that the ministry’s name actually included “environment”.
Ever since, however, the ministry has focused on protecting the water, land, air, and especially parks. The newest iteration, renamed following the 2024 provincial election, is tasked with taking that mission to a new place in the shadow of tight budgets and economic uncertainty.
The new Ministry of Environment and Parks is combining two of the province’s most recreation-focused units, Recreation Sites and Trails BC (RSTBC) and BC Parks, with the goal of creating service improvements.
“For the last year, we’ve been looking at how to combine the two agencies more closely,” John Hawkings, the executive lead for recreation strategy and service transformation for the Ministry of Environment and Parks. “But it doesn’t mean we are blending the two programs.“
The process began in 2022 when the previous government transferred RSTBC from the Ministry of Forests to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, BC Parks’ long-time home. Under the same roof, it made sense to look for more efficiencies. The process is really about modernizing the agencies’ structures and bureaucracies to eliminate redundancies, find alignments and develop efficiencies, says Hawkings, who is leading the amalgamation.
The government’s priorities, like treaty negotiations with First Nations, the Declaration Act, biodiversity commitments and modern land use planning processes, have added work for government staff at both BC Parks and RSTBC when there’s already record demand on their services. Often managers at both agencies were considering the same proposals through very similar lenses. In addition, the geographic structure of the agencies didn’t always line up with the boundaries of each other or other ministries, like forestry, mining and Indigenous relations.
In an effort to address the challenges, Hawkings led a restructuring that went live in January. The biggest change is on a structural level. BC Parks and RSTBC collaborated and shared resources in the past, but on a business tree, they sat on their own branches within the Conservation and Recreation Division. BC Parks divided its business into three branches, including an operations sector split into six regions across the province. RSTBC had four regional operations divisions.
Under the new structure, they sit on the same branch and their integration is formal, deeper and includes all spectrum of opportunities, says Hawkings. Their head office functions were brought together. Operations were also combined and then redistributed across the province, first into three zones, Coast Area, South Area and North Area, and then into 7 operating regions. These better align with the regional operations of forests, Indigenous relations and other ministries.
“That has a few benefits for us,” says Hawkings. “At the director level, colleagues share similar geographic regions as their counterparts at other ministries, particularly Indigenous relations and forests. The same people are at the planning and negotiating table.”
The reorganization could also better align with regional funding opportunities, he says.
What the merger didn’t do is eliminate staff positions at the operations level, stresses Hawkings. For instance, the West Coast Region still has two district recreation officers, two recreation technicians and a recreation crew to look after RSTBC sites, as well as three BC Parks Section Heads, area supervisors, senior park rangers and auxiliary rangers.
But there are still concerns in the recreation community that the amalgamation will dilute what makes the two agencies unique.
“BC Parks and RSTBC have historically engaged with communities and the recreation sector in rather distinct ways," says Louise Pedersen, Executive Director of the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC. "BC Parks tends to operate in a more corporate manner, whereas RSTBC is more accessible and integrated within local communities. The RSTBC model is highly valuable, relevant and worth preserving. I’m concerned that a shift in structure and culture could make both entities more corporate, reducing their community-centred style.”
Overall, Hawkings thinks the changes will bring many benefits to the recreation community. It will lead to more involvement in land use planning decisions and faster decisions on projects. And while there likely won’t be new money for recreation or parks, there will be a greater importance and priority placed on partnerships with volunteers and outdoor clubs.
“Part of the evolving relationship and the opportunities in combining BC Parks and Recreation Sites and Trails BCis in finding efficiencies through a single relationship,” says Hawkings. “It’s not [a club having] one relationship with Rec Sites and Trails and one relationship with BC Parks. Now we’re all pulling in the same direction.”