Today the BC NDP claimed to set the stage for banning trophy hunting of grizzly bears in British Columbia. In what can only be described as a political stunt, the BC NDP announced that “effective Nov. 30, 2017, the British Columbia government will end grizzly bear trophy hunting throughout the province.” They further proclaimed “while the trophy hunt will end, hunting for meat will be allowed to continue.”

In response to their announcement I issued a statement, reproduced below.

As you will see, I am very supportive of the fact that  the B.C. NDP are respecting the wishes of the Coastal First Nations by placing a moratorium on the hunting of grizzlies in the Great Bear Rainforest. Readers of this website will know that I called for this back in February, 2014 (3 1/2 years ago). However, during the election campaign I pointed out that the B.C. NDP appeared to be trying to have their cake and eat it too when it came to the grizzly hunt. They told the hunting community one thing and the environmental community another.

Today’s announcement will not end grizzly bear hunting in B.C., as many environmental groups have advocated for.

In addition, this announcement will create a system in which not all of the animal will be harvested – resident hunters will no longer be allowed to possess the hair, head and hide of grizzlies. This will be viewed as wasteful by the resident hunting community.

Foreign hunters will still be able to shoot grizzlies in British Columbia, take a picture of themselves standing over the dead beast, and head back home without harvesting any of the animal.

What’s remarkable is that when I introduced legislation in the Spring of 2017 targeted at foreign trophy hunters the BC NDP did not support it. Now, they introduce a mishmash approach that makes little sense.

I’m not sure how this will appease the concerns of anyone. It appears to me that the NDP were trying to play to environmental voters in the election campaign without thinking through their policies. What we really need in BC is science-based approach to wildlife management, not a populist approach to species management.

Media Release

Weaver statement on government’s intention to end the grizzly bear trophy hunt
For immediate release
August 14, 2017

VICTORIA, B.C. – Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green caucus, responded to today’s news regarding grizzly bear hunting in British Columbia. Weaver has long advocated for action on this issue.

“I am encouraged that the B.C. NDP are respecting the wishes of the Coastal First Nations by placing a moratorium on the hunting of grizzlies in the Great Bear Rainforest,” says Weaver.

Weaver further cautions “During the election campaign I pointed out that the B.C. NDP appeared to be trying to have their cake and eat it too when it came to the grizzly hunt. They told the hunting community one thing and the environmental community another.”

Today’s announcement will not end grizzly bear hunting in B.C., as many environmental groups have advocated for.

In addition, this announcement will create a system in which not all of the animal will be harvested – resident hunters will no longer be allowed to possess the hair, head and hide of grizzlies. This will be viewed as wasteful by the resident hunting community.

In addition, foreign hunters will still be able to shoot grizzlies in British Columbia, take a picture of themselves standing over the dead beast, and head back home without harvesting any of the animal.

Weaver adds “I’m not sure how this will appease the concerns of anyone. It appears to me that the NDP were trying to play to environmental voters in the election campaign without thinking through their policies.

“What we really need in BC is science-based approach to wildlife management, not a populist approach to species management.

“B.C. is one of the last strongholds of grizzlies in North America. There are a range of issues that affect the health of grizzly bear populations. These include the effects of climate change on essential salmon and huckleberry stocks, as well as road kill rates and poaching incidents. We must focus on broader wildlife preservation if we are serious about conservation and the protection of grizzlies and other species in this province.

“B.C. and Alberta are the only provinces without Endangered Species legislation. I will work with the government to ensure the introduction of species at risk legislation is advanced in the near future,” says Weaver.

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Media contact

Jillian Oliver, Press Secretary
+1 778-650-0597
jillian.oliver@leg.bc.ca

Today my colleague Adam Olsen and I released a statement on the Government’s announcement regarding steps that they were going to take to stop the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project from going ahead. As you will see from the statement I reproduce below, we applaud Premier Horgan’s strong leadership on this issue and his government’s demonstration that it intends to make good on this crucial promise.

Media Statement

Weaver and Olsen statements on government action on Trans Mountain pipeline expansion
August 10, 2017
For Immediate Release

VICTORIA, B.C. – Andrew Weaver and Adam Olsen responded to the NDP minority government’s announcement that it is taking action to stop the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion from proceeding.

“I am very pleased by the government’s announcement today,” said Weaver. “Employing every tool available to the new government to stop the expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline is a key commitment in our Confidence and Supply Agreement. I applaud Premier Horgan’s strong leadership on this issue and his government’s demonstration that it intends to make good on this crucial promise.

“In the B.C. Green caucus’ view the National Energy Board process that led to this project’s approval was profoundly flawed. Numerous questions remain unanswered or were simply dismissed. To cite one example, the entire marine spill response was predicated on the existence of 20 hours of sunlight. There is no place south of Tuktoyaktuk that has that much sunlight on any day of the year.

“Government has a responsibility to base major decisions affecting the lives and livelihood of so many people on sound evidence, and in the case of TransMountain that standard was not met. In fact, expert panels from both the US National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society of Canada have highlighted the fact that there would be be little ability to clean up a diluted bitumen spill in the coastal environment.

“B.C.’s future lies in innovative growth areas like clean tech and the value-added resource sector, not the sunset fossil fuel industry of the last century. B.C. has everything it needs to be a leader in these areas – it is simply a matter of priorities. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the house to develop good public policy that will ensure B.C.’s prosperity for generations to come.”

Weaver was the only MLA in the B.C. Legislature that acted as an intervenor in the National Energy Board hearings on the TransMountain pipeline expansion project. Adam Olsen, now MLA for Saanich North and the Islands, was also an intervenor.

“It is time to change the relationship with First Nations in British Columbia and this new minority government has a chance to do things differently when it comes to working with First Nations on projects that impact their communities,” said Olsen, who is a member of the Tsartlip First Nation.

“A foundational piece of the agreement between our two caucuses is our mutual support of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls-to-action and the Tsilhqot’in Supreme Court Decision. Indigenous rights and interests are clearly an important part of the Provincial and National interest and I am proud that our Provincial government is recognizing that. Together we can build a province where the government is finally accountable to all of the people it serves.”

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Media contact
Jillian Oliver, Press Secretary
+1 778-650-0597 | jillian.oliver@leg.bc.ca

Today the BC Government fulfilled a promise made in our Supply and Confidence Agreement to send the Site C project to the BC Utilities Commission for review. The Terms of Reference for the review indicate that a preliminary report summarizing preliminary findings will be released on September 20 with the final report due November 1, 2017. Below I reproduce the statement I released in response to this announcement. Further coverage is available in the Victoria Times Colonist, Vancouver Sun and Globe and Mail.

Media Statement

Weaver statement on government’s announcement of Site C review
August 02, 2017

VICTORIA, B.C. – Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green caucus, responded to the news that the NDP minority government has referred the Site C dam for review by the B.C. Utilities Commission.

“I’m glad that the BC NDP have laid out a process that will ensure that Site C finally receives an independent review,” said Weaver. “The BC Liberals should have sent this project for review from the get-go to determine whether it was in the interests of British Columbians. It is simply reckless to spend $9 billion of public money without proper due diligence. According to estimates the cost could be as high as $12 billion.

“As an opposition caucus, our role is to hold the government to account as this process goes ahead. As per our Confidence and Supply Agreement, we were consulted early on the terms of reference but the final draft is the responsibility of Cabinet.

“Our goal all along has been to ensure that a decision such as this, where the impacts are felt by so many, is made with the best information available. This is a step in that direction.”

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Media contact
Jillian Oliver, Press Secretary
250-882-6187 | jillian.oliver@leg.bc.ca

Andrew Weaver statement on Christy Clark’s resignation as Leader of the BC Liberal Party and MLA for Kelowna-West

July 28, 2017

For immediate release

Yesterday I issued a statement in response to Petronas’s announcement that it will not be proceeding with its Pacific Northwest LNG project. As I mentioned more than four years ago, global market conditions were never going to support an LNG industry in British Columbia on the scale the BC Liberals promised. This decision by Petronas was not unexpected.  I reproduce my statement below.

In addition, a number of media outlets asked me to comment on the Attorney General’s remarks regarding the Trans Mountain permitting process as well as subtle changes in the language used in the Minister of Environment’s mandate letter. That letter stated that the Premier expects the Minister of Environment to make “substantive progress” on a number of priorities. These include:

Employ every tool available to defend B.C.’s interests in the face of the expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline, and the threat of a seven-fold increase in tanker traffic on our coast.

Recall that the Confidence and Supply Agreement, ratified by both the BC NDP and BC Green Caucuses, specifically states that an NDP government will:

Immediately employ every tool available to the new government to stop the expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline, the seven-fold increase in tanker traffic on our coast, and the transportation of raw bitumen through our province.

This language was based on similar language in the BC NDP 2017 election platform as well as long-standing BC Green opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline. The BC NDP election platform specifically said:

The Kinder Morgan pipeline is not in BC’s interest. It means a seven-fold increase in tanker traffic. It doesn’t, and won’t, meet the necessary conditions of providing benefits to British Columbia without putting our environment and our economy at unreasonable risk. We will use every tool in our toolbox to stop the project from going ahead.

My comments, reproduced in Huffington Post and Canadian Press articles, point out that:

As an opposition party, we will remain steadfast in calling on the NDP government to use every legally available tool to stop the pipeline from going ahead

Statement on Petronas Announcement

For immediate release
July 25, 2017
Andrew Weaver statement on Pacific Northwest LNG

VICTORIA, B.C. – Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green caucus, issued the following statement in response to Petronas’s announcement that it will not be proceeding with its Pacific Northwest LNG project.

“Since the beginning it has been clear that the global marketplace does not support the LNG industry that the BC Liberals promised in their 2013 election campaign,” said Weaver.

“Rather than doing the hard work​ required to strengthen and secure the economic opportunities already available in other sectors, the BC Liberals recklessly went all in on a single industry. They let opportunities for innovation and economic development in clean technology, the resource sector, and other major BC industries fall by the wayside.

“BC’s future does not lie in chasing yesterday’s fossil fuel economy; it lies in taking advantage of opportunities in the emerging economy in order to create economic prosperity in BC. These opportunities must be available to people in all regions of our province.

“The BC Green caucus is committed to developing these opportunities in the emerging economy that all British Columbians can access. This is the vision we ran on.”

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Media contact
Sarah Miller, Acting Press Secretary
+1 250-858-9891 | sarah.miller@leg.bc.ca