Rejection of funding agreement leaves future uncertain for B.C. coastal communities

The federal government has torn up a funding agreement that had brought together a diverse cross-section of society, including First Nations, the Province of British Columbia, commercial fishing operators, shipping interests, tourism operators, local governments, environmentalists and the oil and gas sector. These groups came together to design a collaborative ocean management plan for Canada’s Pacific North Coast, an area larger than Portugal.

“After five years of negotiations and meetings, Canada was finally working toward a comprehensive plan for a large ocean area, rather than a hodge-podge of regulations and fragmented management and enforcement,” says Bill Wareham, Senior Policy Analyst for the David Suzuki Foundation. “Now we’re grinding into reverse with an approach that has failed us repeatedly in the past. This does not bode well for the communities of coastal British Columbia that depend on a healthy ocean.”

After consultation with a broad range of stakeholders, Canada, B.C. and First Nations agreed to pursue a public-private funding model for the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA) initiative. The Moore Foundation - which has a long track record working with U.S. state governments on multi-use ocean planning - offered to support the process. This was approved by the federal government in January 2011 after extensive review by government lawyers.

“This leaves us with an empty process that will fail to protect the ocean and the coastal economy,” says Kim Wright, Marine Planning and Protected Areas Manager for the Living Oceans Society. “It appears to be yet another knee-jerk reaction from the Prime Minister’s Office against fair and collaborative decision-making. They have ignored advice from the federal government’s top scientists and policy-makers, and are instead bowing to pressure from influential lobbyists from the shipping sector.”

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