Town stays out of fight over park – for now

Members of Oliver council fail to agree on request for referendum on national park reserve proposed for region

OLIVER — Oliver council has decided, for the time being, to not send a letter to senior levels of government requesting a referendum that would allow residents in Oliver, Osoyoos and Keremeos to decide whether they want to proceed with a national park reserve for the South Okanagan-Similkameen.

Following a presentation by Sarah Boyle, representing Parks Canada as public consultations continue on establishing a national park reserve in the region, members of council discussed a request by a local resident asking that a referendum be held to once and for all decide whether local citizens are in favour of or against the reserve.

Council was asked by the resident to forward a letter to Parks Canada asking for support to hold a referendum that would allow local residents most affected by a national park reserve to vote in favour of or against the contentious project.

Mayor Martin Johansen said he personally supports writing a letter calling for a referendum and received support from rookie Coun. Aimee Grice.

However, veteran councillors Larry Schwarzenberger and Petra Veintimilla were not in favour, which resulted in a tie vote — Coun. David Mattes was absent from Monday night’s meeting — thus defeating the motion to send the letter.

At a recent strategic session by the newly elected council, it was decided that “council would remain neutral on the issue of the national park,” said Schwarzenberger. “So I think we should stay out of it.”

Grice disagreed, saying because this issue has been so high-profile and controversial, it’s her belief that giving local constituents the final say on whether or not to proceed with a national park reserve is paramount.

Veintimilla said she wants much more information about the proposed national park reserve before making any final decision, but at this point would not be in favour of sending a letter to Parks Canada.

This national park reserve proposal “has been bantered back and forth” for many years and she doesn’t see the benefit of sending a letter at this time, she said.

She would not rule out sending a similar letter in the future, once more information about the proposed park is forthcoming, she said.

Johansen said he was strongly in favour of sending a letter to Parks Canada as soon as possible.

“I think it’s a good letter to get out there ahead of the curve before some more decisions are made, and that there is some interest in having a referendum out there,” he said. “Having one today may not be the best thing because there is still some information to come, but that doesn’t stop me from putting it in my hand, and I would like to see people in this area have a say in what’s going on.”

Johansen said he finds it “very frustrating” that local MLA Linda Larson hasn’t been invited to participate in the steering committee formed on establishing a national park reserve, and that the concerns and support by local residents isn’t being given enough importance in the decision-making process.

“There’s a ton of people involved, but hardly anyone locally,” he said. “We’re not involved in the steering committee or anything like that. Something’s amiss, and I don’t think that’s right.”

Grice agreed, saying a referendum would allow local residents “to have a voice” in this important decision.

“We want the federal government to know that we want to be heard,” she said, adding a referendum is the best option to allow local residents to show support or reject the national park reserve proposal.

The public consultation process, which includes numerous stakeholder meetings and a survey, is scheduled to be completed by Feb. 28.

During public question period near the conclusion of the council meeting, Bill Ross, a longtime member of the South Okanagan-Similkameen Preservation Society (SOSPS), pleaded with council to revisit its decision and send a letter to Parks Canada asking that a referendum be held.

Ross said his organization believes “it’s a gross injustice” to not allow local residents to have their say about the proposed park through a referendum.

“This national park reserve being proposed is something that is very, very influential in the South Okanagan,” he said.

Boyle and Parks Canada staff are not listening to enough stakeholders at the grassroots level or listening to polls that indicated more than 75 per cent of local residents are in favour of a referendum on this issue, he said.

The SOSPS isn’t against the proposed national park reserve, but isn’t pleased with the public consultation process currently underway, he said.

“All we want is transparency and enough information for everybody so they understand what’s going on,” he said.

There hasn’t been a single forum involving the federal, provincial and First Nation leaders where members of the public could voice their concerns, and that isn’t acceptable, he said.

A forum scheduled for Tuesday night at the Oliver Community Centre was abruptly postponed as Parks Canada wants to bring in senior officials, council heard.

Ross said he believes the odds of the federal government holding a referendum on this issue “on a scale of one to 10, is minus 18.”