As activists opposed to old-growth logging were dragged and pepper-sprayed by the RCMP in Fairy Creek over the weekend, the federal Liberal Party promised to protect old-growth forests in British Columbia.
North Vancouver candidate Jonathan Wilkinson promised a re-elected Liberal government would put $50 million on the table to help protect old-growth forests, and took a shot at the NDP for not mentioning 鈥渙ld-growth鈥� specifically in its climate plans, saying he was 鈥渄isappointed鈥� in NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. Wilkinson said the Liberals would work toward an agreement with sa国际传媒 Premier John Horgan鈥檚 NDP government to expand protected areas.
鈥淚n many areas, the focus really is on stopping the decline of biodiversity, and that means looking to protect intact ecosystems to start with,鈥� Wilkinson told sa国际传媒鈥檚 National Observer.
鈥淲hile forestry management and the harvesting of timber in the province is the purview of the provincial government, our view is that there is a role for the federal government [in] working with the province and Indigenous communities,鈥� Wilkinson said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not trying to tell the province of British Columbia what it must do, but we are trying to say we鈥檙e a willing partner to work with you on something that we know is important for British Columbians,鈥� he said.
The Green Party鈥檚 Nanaimo-Ladysmith candidate Paul Manly said it was 鈥渁bout time鈥� the Liberals listened to him and pointed to a motion he introduced in the House of Commons in February calling for the protection of old-growth forests.
鈥淚 have sent numerous letters to the minister, and to the minister of Indigenous-Crown relations, and to the minister of public safety, saying that they need to step in and offer conservation financing to First Nations and work with the province and First Nations to end this crisis,鈥� Manly said.
鈥淭hese land defenders aren鈥檛 going to stop. They鈥檙e not going to stop even with this brutality that we鈥檙e seeing from the RCMP. They are determined to protect these forests, and these forests are key for climate change,鈥� he said.
Manly said that when sa国际传媒 signs international agreements, like the Convention on Biological Diversity, that is a commitment that should be upheld by the federal government. Instead, he pointed to an inconsistency.
鈥淲hen the federal government signs a trade agreement, the subnational governments 鈥� the provinces 鈥� are bound by that agreement. When we sign environmental treaties, like for the protection of biodiversity or to take climate action, the provincial governments aren鈥檛 bound by that,鈥� he explains.
But the jurisdictional landscape is changing in the wake of the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision this year that ruled the federal government has a right to impose a carbon tax, essentially because responding to climate change is an issue of national concern.
鈥淭he federal government has a right to step in to protect biodiversity in the same way,鈥� Manly said.
鈥淗ow does [Ottawa] uphold our international agreements? Well they鈥檙e going to have to take the provinces to task, and it may mean going to court over it to fight over jurisdiction,鈥� he said.
Climate group Stand.Earth international programs director Tzeporah Berman said in a statement she was encouraged by Wilkinson鈥檚 announcement, but it came after more than 700 people have been arrested by RCMP this year at the Ada鈥檌tsx (Fairy Creek) blockades.
鈥淥ld-growth forests are important to people all across sa国际传媒 and are an essential part of any effective national climate plan. Yet even today, people are being arrested for trying to stop the clear-cut logging of some of the last of the province鈥檚 old-growth,鈥� Berman said.
On Monday, Singh committed $500 million to fund Indigenous-led land and water stewardship programs, including for old-growth forests. Other NDP candidates have signalled their support for old-growth forests as well, including Victoria candidate Laurel Collins and Cowichan-Malahat-Langford candidate Alistair MacGregor who have previously written to Wilkinson calling for federal support.
The NDP did not reply to requests for comment.
