The provincial government should be held more accountable for the upkeep of the health of British Columbia’s many watersheds.
That is the message Youbou/Meade Creek area director Klaus Kuhn has been trying to get across.
First, through newspaper articles in everything from the Lake Cowichan Gazette to the Globe and Mail. Now, through a Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) resolution.
During a recent meeting with the Cowichan Lake and River Stewardship Society – a group he helped form – Kuhn announced a proposed UBCM resolution he’s been instrumental in initiating through the Cowichan Valley Regional District.
The resolution reads as follows:
WHEREAS the health of British Columbia lakes and rivers is deteriorating due to increasing pollution, recreational use, development, and insufficient regulatory enforcement by senior levels of government;
AND WHEREAS local governments do not have adequate regulatory powers or the funding capacity to sufficiently protect local lake and rivers:
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Province of British Columbia restore funding and resources to provincial ministries to ensure the adequate protection of BC lakes and rivers, or provide the regulatory authority and financial means to local governments to properly protect and manage lakes and rivers at the local level.
UBCM members will vote on the resolution. Should it pass, the resolution will be carried forth, with an empowering UBCM stamp of approval, to the provincial government’s bigwigs for consideration.