BC Budget 2021: The Highs and Lows for Outdoor Recreation
Highlights and lowlights of the budget for the public outdoor recreation sector.
Given the importance of access to the outdoors over the past year and the toll that decades of underfunding have had on recreational infrastructure, environmental stewardship and user management in our provincial parks and on Crown land outside of the parks system, we were hoping to see significant funding commitments in Budget 2021 for outdoor recreation. We broke down some of the highlights – and lowlights – of the new budget for the public outdoor recreation sector below:
BC Parks
On Friday, the Honorable George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy announced the largest budget boost to BC Parks in almost four decades. It has given us new hope that our decision-makers are listening to our voices and that our provincial parks can continue to serve an important role for all British Columbians to enjoy some of our most spectacular areas.
Over the next three years, BC Parks’ budget will increase by $83 million, raising the annual budget to around $70 million. More specifically, the capital budget will increase by an average of 57% and the operating budget will increase by an average of 22% over each of the next three years.
The Province has hinted at some of the priority areas for the new funding:
Enhancement of trails and improvement of accessibility for people who use wheelchairs, strollers or have other accessibility challenges
Support for high-priority maintenance projects and renovations to existing facilities, additional staff and equipment
Improvement of backcountry facilities to enhance stewardship and the overall visitor experience.
185 campsites are expected to be added to BC Parks this year, including a 90-site campground expected to open in Manning Park near Hope as early as this summer.
So is this enough?
There is broad agreement that the provincial parks system needs at least $100 million in annual funding. Earlier this year, Premier Horgan was presented with a case for a bold, timely and necessary investment in BC Parks in Budget 2021. In a letter signed by the ORC and 18 other tourism, recreation and conservation organizations, representing 1,400 member organizations and businesses, we advocated for a meaningful commitment to increase the annual budget for BC Parks to $100 million. While we are celebrating this historic budget increase and feel it’s a significant step in the right direction, we’ll also be watching closely on how this much-needed funding will be spent.
Recreation sites and trails bc
We are disappointed that Budget 2021 failed to restore much-needed operational funding for Recreation Sites and Trails BC (RSTBC). With the rapid growth in outdoor recreation and trail usage expected to continue, the ORC and a long list of outdoor recreation and tourism organizations had advocated for a modest $4 million increase in RSTBC’s annual operating budget to $12.5 million. This kind of investment could have supported operational needs in terms of planning and policy, recreational infrastructure maintenance, monitoring and enforcement, Indigenous partnerships and consultations, and community engagement and volunteer support. Almost 2,000 British Columbians wrote their local MLA in support of our $4 million ask during our letter writing campaign this February, demonstrating broad support for more sustainable funding for outdoor recreation on Crown land outside of the parks system.
However, the bright spot is that the new budget has allocated almost $3 million to expand the excellent Recreation Youth Crew Program, creating an additional 72 job experiences for youth. These positions will provide some of the much-needed support to Recreation Sites and Trails BC staff that we’ve advocated for, helping to manage and maintain BC’s backcountry recreation sites and trails during the summer months.
Active transportation strategy and pst exemption on e-bikes and e-trikes
We would like to have seen more investments in BC’s Active Transporation Strategy, including more funding for local governments to help improve active transportation infrastructure and important connections to trail networks. The good news is that starting April 21st, new purchases of e-bikes, e-tikes and conversion kits will be exempt from paying PST. This has been the case for regular non-electric bicycles already and we are glad to see the addition of e-bikes and e-tikes to the PST exemption list. Electric bikes and trikes make biking much more accessible to those with differing mobility needs, making it a great way to get outdoors. There are some qualifications on which e-bikes and e-trikes qualify for the PST exemption, you can check out the short list here.
Paradigm shifts in forest management
While the recent Throne speech mentioned a whole host of paradigm-shifting reforms to the forest sector – updates to key forest legislation; action on implementing the recommendations of the independent report on old growth, including new protections for remaining old-growth stands not already protected; improvements to land management practices to enhance forest stewardship and environmental protection, it’s hard to see how this is possible given the fact that the Ministry of Forests budget is being cut by $41 million this year and a further $30 million in 2022.
The 2021 budget was one of the most anticipated in recent history as the province grapples with a third wave of COVID-19 cases and a new batch of restrictions. Though we didn’t see all the investments that we’d hoped and advocated for, there are certainly some big wins to celebrate and we are excited to see the new funding to BC Parks be put into action. What’s clear is that access to the outdoors is paramount as British Columbians adapt to the new normal and life post-pandemic. And together our voices spoke loud and clear for stronger funding for public outdoor recreation in BC.
Let’s keep the good fight going, consider making a donation to the ORC to help with our continuous efforts towards outdoor recreation and advocacy in BC.
