Recreation on the Ballot: Where the Political Parties Stand in BC’s Election
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British Columbians will elect a new provincial government on October 19. When weighing who to vote for there are many important issues to consider. At the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC we think recreation policy should be near the top of the list. It touches many parts of society: physical and mental health, sustainable economies, tourism, climate change, parks and conservation, biodiversity, First Nations relations, transportation and more.
You can read the full party platforms on their respective websites: BC NDP, Conservative Party of BC and BC Green Party. And find out everything you need to know about voting on Elections BC’s website.
To help sort through all the information, we also asked the parties three pointed questions about recreation policy and direction. We gave them a month to reply and received responses from the Green and NDP parties. No one from the Conservative party responded to any of our emails.
Here are our questions and the unedited responses.
1. Volunteers and nonprofits are essential to outdoor recreation in BC, maintaining trails, advocating for interests, and stewarding public lands and waters. However, they face financial and operational challenges. The new Outdoor Recreation Fund helps but was oversubscribed in its first year, indicating a need for more resources. Meanwhile, key government partners, BC Parks and Recreation Sites and Trails, are also struggling with increased demands. Both volunteer groups and government agencies are vital to sustaining recreation infrastructure and experiences in BC. How will your party support recreation, both within and outside government?
BC Greens:
Support for sustainable outdoor recreation overlaps with custodianship of our natural environment. The B.C. Greens plan to invest $50 million in a Youth Climate Corps, providing quality jobs for youth in communities across the province to restore and protect our natural systems, and build climate resilience.
This and other measures noted below are parts of a holistic vision in which recreation, ecotourism, communities, and First Nations leaders work together to form a respectful, responsible, and sustainable relationship between nature and the economy.
The BC Greens believe that adequate upstream investments in sport and recreation can create more connected communities, and healthier individuals – reducing the pressures on the healthcare system in the long-term.
One example is our plan to expand and improve cycling infrastructure across the province: Outside of BC’s urban centres, the need for investment in safe, accessible and inclusive cycling policies and facilities go beyond workplace commuting.
Quite simply, bicycles mean tourism revenues. Better cycling facilities across British Columbia can appeal to international audiences coming to experience our spectacular outdoors, Indigenous cultures, coastal communities, wineries and historical sites, and world-renowned recreational and sporting events.
Working with our member organizations across the province, we have identified opportunities to improve cycling for better economic performance for our destination marketing regions. Improved cycling infrastructure and trail networks across the province will increase access to recreation in B.C., contributing to the growth of sustainable tourism, and in turn providing a wealth of benefits for local communities.
This plan to develop cycling infrastructure was developed in collaboration with the B.C. Cycling Coalition and other local partners. In this same spirit of collaboration, we welcome the opportunity to sit down with the Outdoor Recreation Council to share perspectives, consider ideas, and develop strategies.
BC NDP:
BC is home to some of the most beautiful and majestic forests in the world. Our kids and grandkids deserve the opportunity to enjoy BC as much as we all did growing up. Provincial campgrounds and parks offer affordable getaways for families in the wilderness.
David Eby and the BC NDP will take action and will support expanding parks, recreation sites and trails – particularly in areas close to regional centres – through a long-term funding commitment that will develop and improve access roads, trails and infrastructure; create better camping experiences for your family by adding more large group capacity campsites in BC parks; expand recreation facilities particularly for accessibility; and develop new recreation projects in partnership with First Nations.
We will once more contribute to the Outdoor Recreation Fund of BC endowment fund to allow the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC to continue its work for outdoor recreation in BC.
2. Outdoor recreation is fundamental to BC's identity and the prosperity of our communities, yet it is often overlooked in land use and conservation planning. Recreation interests must be a key consideration in land use planning, forest landscape management, resource road asset management, and decisions regarding Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas. How will your party ensure the recreation interests are meaningfully and structurally included in stakeholder engagement with governments, industry, and First Nations?
BC Greens:
As our province’s historical resource-extraction industries contribute a diminishing share to its revenue, the B.C. Greens recognize that it is time to build a new economy, one which supports small business interests across the province, placing people and communities at the core while supporting and protecting our ecosystems.
Along with socio-cultural tourism, ecotourism is a vibrant sector with great potential for growth. Providing visitors from around the world with first-hand experiences of the beauty of this province’s landscape has the added benefit of developing recreational infrastructure that can be enjoyed by all.
The BC Greens believe Tourism, Arts, Culture, and Sports are vital to the livelihoods and wellbeing of communities in BC and the provincial government is responsible for protecting and supporting these sectors. The BC Greens will continue to invest in our communities and the future of this province, and welcome the involvement of recreation interests as an acknowledged key player in this development.
And the BC Greens will support Indigenous communities in meaningful consultation by providing appropriate resources and ensuring their input is thoroughly considered in government decision-making – especially with regard to land use planning
We are committed to creating and supporting watershed boards in every community. These boards will be granted authority over decisions that affect watershed security and will serve as collaborative platforms where First Nations and local stakeholders - farmers, industry representatives, commercial users, and environmental stewards - can collaboratively manage and conserve their local water sources. We will commit $100 million to fund the establishment and ongoing support of watershed boards across the province, ensuring their sustainability and effectiveness.
We are committed to expanding community forest programs to ensure local communities can better manage their forests and make decisions that benefit their communities - including developing trail networks and other recreation opportunities in their local forests.
BC NDP:
We’re moving away from bureaucrats in Victoria deciding what’s best and moving towards local tables setting local priorities, like the work that has been so successful in Cowichan on Vancouver Island, for example. Because of a water crisis in the region, people came together to plan water use more carefully. At water use tables there you’ll find industry, local officials, workers, community members and Indigenous representatives working in partnership to prevent scarcity through better planning, and prioritizing use at times of shortage while considering things like local farming cycles and emergency access to mitigate economic and cultural harms like fish kills. Their proposal resulted in provincial funding a project to raise the Cowichan River weir to ensure the river flows again for fish, farmers, and the whole community.
This example shows us that we can achieve more together when we work collaboratively toward shared goals – and when the people impacted by government decisions play a role in strategic planning.
British Columbians know we can’t afford to bury our heads in the sand about the impacts of climate change on our province - our province can’t afford a government that isn’t planning ahead in case drought and fire gets worse before it gets better. That’s why we will work closely with stakeholders, farmers, industry and First Nations to keep working to ensure our kids and grandkids enjoy our waters and land.
John Rustad will be a disaster for our environment. We should be deeply concerned about leaving the quality of our lands and watersheds to John Rustand who doesn’t believe in climate change, especially since many of the most beautiful places to spend time in our province are uniquely vulnerable to a changing climate.
3. Understanding the full impact of outdoor recreation on BC's economy, environment, and communities is essential for informed decision-making resource allocations and sustainable growth of the sector, yet data on these impacts is sparse.. Will your party commit to funding the collection of key data about the outdoor recreation industry and its analysis? How will your party support and nurture sustainable growth in the outdoor recreation sector in the province?
BC Greens:
We fully believe that good, evidence-based data is key to informing government policies.
A key piece of the B.C. Greens’ environmental policy for this election entails a plan to strengthen and fund BC’s park system and create new provincial parks; to ensure British Columbians can access nature, we are committing to expanding camping and recreation opportunities. A robust process of consultation, data-gathering and analysis will be an essential part of these plans.
BC NDP:
Yes, we will collaborate with the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC, stakeholders, industry and First Nations, on sharing and supporting opportunities on how people are using recreation sites, what needs to be included in future infrastructure planning, how best to improve safety of recreation users, how we can increase the economic contributions that come from enhancing recreational opportunities, and what lessons we can share when we all use the same outdoor spaces.
We too believe that we all need to be working in a good way.