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$80M Boost for BC Parks Upgrades, CPAWS-BC Ecstatic
For interviews, please contact:
Tori Ball, Senior Campaigner
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, BC Chapter
tori@cpawsbc.org
(604) 685-7445 x24
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2021
$80M Boost for BC Parks Upgrades, CPAWS-BC Ecstatic
Historic budget lift sets bright path for parks and recreation in BC
Unceded Coast Salish Territory / Vancouver, BC – The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – British Columbia (CPAWS-BC) is applauding the BC government’s announcement today of a new $80 million investment into BC’s provincial parks over the next three years. This represents a historic budget increase that’s been overdue for decades.
“After 20 years of fighting for this, we’re thrilled to finally see an investment of this magnitude for our provincial parks,” says Tori Ball, Senior Campaigner with CPAWS-BC. “This leap in budget funding will go a long way in helping BC Parks to refocus on protecting important landscapes and ecosystems, and supporting them to better meet the needs of British Columbians wanting to spend more time in these special places.”
Today’s budget announcement is the most recent and sizable upgrade to the BC Parks system. It comes on the heels of an announcement earlier this week creating hundreds of new conservation and park jobs for youth. BC Parks has received necessary increases for staffing, infrastructure, and park upkeep over the last year to manage pandemic-related demand. The BC government plans to inject additional funding over the next three years:
- $36 million planned for operations
- $47 million in capital investments
“Investing in BC’s parks is also a welcome boost to tourism – the sector hardest hit by the pandemic,” adds Ball. “More money for BC Parks means more jobs in remote and rural communities, and in the long term will serve to support natural climate solutions that will help stem the global biodiversity crisis.”
CPAWS-BC and its partners have been campaigning for bold budget upgrades for BC Parks for many years. As parks and other outdoor spaces continue to experience record high visitation through the pandemic, this announcement signals a turning point for BC Parks and can be widely celebrated as a long-overdue boost to upgrade visitor infrastructure, increase staffing in parks, and expand protected areas.
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For interviews, please contact:
Tori Ball, Senior Campaigner
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, BC Chapter
tori@cpawsbc.org
(604) 685-7445 x24
Key Facts:
- BC’s provincial parks welcome over 23 million visitors each year. However, decades of underfunding have created significant gaps in the system. A surge in outdoor recreation through the pandemic put further pressure on staffing, park expansion, trail building, and visitor facility upgrades.
- Canadian public health officials strongly recommend outdoor recreation to alleviate lockdown blues. However, lack of funding and staffing resulted in complete park closures in Spring 2020 during the pandemic’s early days.
- In October 2020, Premier Horgan announced a strong parks-focused mandate letter to Environment Minister George Heyman and Parliamentary Secretary of Environment Kelly Greene. This budget provides necessary resources to deliver on this mandate of expanding campgrounds, trails and protected areas.
- CPAWS-BC, alongside partner organizations, including tourism associations, recreation organizations, and labor unions, has been campaigning for bold budget upgrades for BC Parks for many years to increase staffing and improve park infrastructure and visitor facilities.
For more information: Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy News Release
About CPAWS-BC:
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – British Columbia (CPAWS-BC) is part of one of Canada’s oldest non-profit conservation groups. We protect wilderness in every corner of BC and deep into the ocean. We have been defending BC since 1978 and are dedicated to keeping BC’s natural environment thriving forever. Nature is BC’s best hope.
For interviews, contact:
Tori Ball
604-685-7445 x24
tori@cpawsbc.org
BC voters prioritize nature and environment in upcoming election
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2020
Traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples/Vancouver, BC — In the midst of a global health crisis and the rush of a snap election, safeguarding nature remains a high priority for British Columbians. A new online survey from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society’s BC Chapter (CPAWS-BC) found that 67% of British Columbians say conservation and environment issues are very important or extremely important to them as voters, and want the government to protect more of our lands and ocean.
“The message is clear – British Columbians want the province to focus on safeguarding nature, and to prioritize wildlife and habitat protection. Any party wishing to form the next government will need to have a strong, credible plan for conservation and be ready to back it up with real action,” says Bruce Passmore, Executive Director with CPAWS-BC.
Additional key findings of the survey include:
- Widespread support for increasing protection of BC’s lands and ocean: 87% think the province should commit to protecting 25% of BC’s lands and ocean by 2025
- Strong demand for increasing investment in provincial parks: 86% think the province should invest more funding into BC Parks
- Healthy oceans matter: 94% say it is very important or extremely important that ocean and coastal ecosystems are healthy
- Current approach to coastal management needs a renovation: 81% think the province should create a new plan and law for BC’s coast
“British Columbians recognize the urgent need to find solutions to climate change and to stem biodiversity loss. The question now isn’t whether or not we need to take action, it’s what will the next government actually do to drive conservation forward in BC,” says Passmore.
CPAWS-BC is calling on all parties to prioritize wildlife conservation and habitat protection, commit to fixing our neglected provincial parks, and work on building a cohesive plan for a healthy coast. All of this work must be undertaken with a clear and meaningful commitment to reconciliation, working with original and ongoing stewards of BC’s lands and waters.
“The voters of BC are demanding real action to protect the lands, waters and wildlife that we all depend on. BC has a reputation for being bold, and we hope to see politicians stepping up to the plate with bold commitments during the election period and beyond,” says Passmore.
This survey was conducted online between October 3 and 8. Responses were collected from 1041 British Columbians, with a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of plus or minus (±) 3%.
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For interviews, contact:
Tori Ball
604-685-7445 x24
tori@cpawsbc.org
CPAWS applauds federal government’s commitment to nature conservation as part of Canada’s recovery
September 23, 2020, OTTAWA, Ontario – The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) welcomes the federal government’s commitment in today’s Speech from the Throne to protect nature as part of Canada’s recovery from COVID-19.
Protecting and restoring nature includes working towards the federal government’s commitments to protecting 25% of Canada’s land and ocean by 2025 and 30% by 2030 and implementing nature-based climate solutions. Bold action is urgently needed to tackle the interrelated biodiversity loss and climate change crises, and today’s commitments are an important step forward.
Biodiversity loss and climate change dominate the World Economic Forum’s top five risks to the global economy, and the COVID-19 pandemic and, by extension, the resulting economic crisis, are a direct outcome of our unsustainable relationship with the natural world.
With today’s acknowledgement of the importance of nature, CPAWS is encouraged that the necessary investment to curb biodiversity loss and make Canada more resilient to climate change will be included in recovery plans. Nature conservation, including protected areas, nature-based climate solutions, and natural infrastructure, offer job opportunities for people across the country and have the potential to support highly-impacted, remote, and vulnerable sectors.
CPAWS highlights the importance of implementing these conservation and climate commitments in ways that advance reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. Federal investment in Indigenous-led conservation and stewardship programs such as Indigenous Guardians will be key to our collective success in conserving nature in Canada.
With our 13 community-based offices from Yukon to Newfoundland and Labrador, and a national office located in Ottawa, CPAWS is looking forward to continuing to work with governments at all levels, Indigenous groups, and other partners, to deliver on these significant commitments to land and ocean protection, nature-based climate solutions, and natural infrastructure in ways that effectively conserve biodiversity and help tackle climate change.
Quotes:
“We are pleased to see the federal government’s continued commitment to using nature-based solutions to fight climate change by protecting a quarter of Canada’s ocean in five years,” said Ross Jameson, Ocean Conservation Manager at CPAWS British Columbia (CPAWS-BC). “Protected areas will conserve biodiversity, advance reconciliation, and create healthy coastal communities.”
“This renewed commitment from the federal government is critical in advancing conservation initiatives in BC, in places like Kaska ancestral territory in the northern interior,” says Jessie Corey, Terrestrial Conservation Manager at CPAWS British Columbia (CPAWS-BC). ”BC has the opportunity to lead the rest of the country in meeting its biodiversity conservation targets, and we’re hopeful to see increased collaboration between governments in the coming years to follow through on these commitments.”
“While the link between healthy nature, human health, economic health, and climate stability was recognized before the pandemic, COVID-19 has created the space to consider these important links and to re-think our future,” said Sandra Schwartz, CPAWS National Executive Director. “Governments, including the European Union and New Zealand, are choosing to invest in rebuilding societies and economies that are more healthy, equitable, and green as they plan and implement recovery strategies for COVID-19 – and we are optimistic Canada is on the path to do the same.”
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For more information, please contact:
Skye Vallance
Communications and Development Coordinator
skye@cpawsbc.org| 604-685-7445 x 22
Background
- According to the World Economic Forum, half of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is moderately or highly dependent on nature and the services it provides, and the global food-, land-, and ocean-use system provides up to 40% of the world’s jobs. As a nation that relies on its rich natural resources, protecting nature and the multitude of services it provides is critical to Canada’s economic recovery.
- Many studies done across Canada have found that natural assets, if maintained, already have tremendous value, which will increase as the climate changes. As an example, urban forests in Toronto, Vancouver, and Halifax are valued at billions of dollars for ecosystem services such as control of stormwater runoff, air quality regulation, and carbon sequestration.
- Protecting and restoring forest, grassland, and wetland (including eelgrass, saltmarsh, and riparian areas) to reduce and store greenhouse gas emissions would help to address the climate and biodiversity crises, create jobs, and expand a green economy in Canada. The same is true for using natural infrastructure solutions to increase our resilience to climate change.
- The World Economic Forum estimates that transitioning industry to a more nature-positive model could result in up to $10 trillion USD in annual business value and could create 395 million jobs by 2030.
- Terrestrial parks and associated visitor spending support 64,000 jobs, generate a return of 6:1 in GDP, and return 44% of government investment back in taxes. Canada’s parks and protected areas are becoming increasingly important for domestic tourism as COVID-19 restricts international travel.
- Effective Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a key component of a strong Blue Economy. Recent studies show that protecting 30% of our ocean in effective and well-managed MPAs can restore ocean health and produce an economic return on investments of 10:1.
- Read our Economic Investment in Nature backgrounder
About CPAWS
The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is Canada’s only nationwide charity dedicated solely to the protection of our public land, ocean, and freshwater, and ensuring our parks and protected areas are managed to protect nature. Since 1963, CPAWS has played a leading role in protecting over half a million square kilometres. Our vision is to protect at least half of Canada’s public land and water in a framework of reconciliation – for the benefit of wildlife and people.
The CPAWS British Columbia chapter (CPAWS-BC) works to protect wilderness in every corner of BC and deep into the ocean. We have been defending BC since 1978, and are dedicated to keeping BC’s natural environment thriving forever. Nature is BC’s best hope.
www.cpawsbc.org
Thursday October 24th, 2019
Traditional territories of the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations, Victoria, BC – The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – British Columbia (CPAWS-BC) congratulates the government of BC’s leadership to legally uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples in the province. The introduction of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, the first law of its kind in Canada, follows through on commitments to reconcile BC law with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
“This legislation is one step forward in a path to reconciliation that will lift up the existing efforts of Indigenous-led protection on land and in the ocean in BC,” says Jessie Corey, Terrestrial Conservation Manager at CPAWS-BC. “Bold action to stem the climate and biodiversity crises will only be achieved with the full collaboration and participation of Indigenous communities across Canada.”
Recent movement towards designating a National Park Reserve in the nxʷəlxʷəltantət, South Okanagan-Similkameen is one example of successful collaboration between First Nations, provincial and federal governments. The recent signing of iʔ sc̓ax̌ʷtət, memorandum of understanding, between these three levels of government is based on the recognition of the title and rights of the Syilx people, and provides a path forward to reconciliation through conservation.
Earlier this year, land and wildlife conservation proposals from First Nations all across BC were submitted to the federal government as part of Canada’s investment in increasing the amount of protected areas in the country. These projects present an incredible opportunity for BC to work with First Nations to combat biodiversity loss in a way that honours Indigenous relationships to the land and rights to self-determination.
Across the country, Indigenous communities are leading the way in new forms of conservation – from the Edezhie Indigenous Protected Area in the Northwest Territories, to the proposed Kaska Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area, Dene Kʼéh Kusān in northern BC.
“This leadership from Indigenous people sets a new foundation for future efforts in BC to safeguard lands and waters through new protected areas,” continued Corey. “With this new legislation, governments are creating a better path forward to a shared future with healthy landscapes and wildlife populations at the heart of it.”
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For interview, contact:
Skye Vallance
Communications & Development Coordinator, CPAWS-BC
info@cpawsbc.org
604-685-7445 ext.22
Resources:
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – British Columbia (CPAWS-BC) is dedicated to the protection of public land and water, and ensuring our parks are managed to protect the nature within them. Our vision is to establish large, intact areas of wilderness on land and in the ocean that can nurture nature through climate change and support all life.
Unprecedented call for Environmental Leadership from our elected politicians heard across the country
North Vancouver, October 4, 2019 – Last night’s debate in north Vancouver was one of the 100 Debates on the Environment taking place across Canada, with locals coming to Presentation House Theatre to hear from North Vancouver candidates about their views on the environment. Voters joined the large crowds across the country attending their local debates, demonstrating that concern about the environment is fueling a powerful force that no party and no candidate can ignore.
The environment debate for the North Vancouver riding was attended by Conservative Party of Canada, Green Party of Canada, Liberal Party of Canada, and New Democratic Party candidates all sharing their views on the environment and competing for voter support. The People\’s Party of Canada was invited and declined. Squamish elder Sut-Lut opened the evening with a prayer and acknowledgement of the Unceded Coast Salish territory where the debate took place. Hosted by Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS-BC) and 100 Debates, the debate asked questions on climate change, wilderness protection, toxic pollution and water. Over 120 community members were also in attendance.
CPAWS-BC and 100 Debates were pleased with the turnout and audience enthusiasm. Candidates expressed their excitement to continue the conversations on species protection and climate change strategy. It was exciting to see this forum in action with so many local voters and youth voicing their top environmental concerns with candidates. CPAWS-BC is pleased to hear candidates speak on the urgent need to support resilient ecosystems and species on the brink of extinction in the face of climate change. Collective action and partnership at each level of governance will set the course for Canada\’s role as a leader for the environment.
Voters in North Vancouver showed their concern for the environment this election, as did other Canadians at the other environment debates held across the country on October 3.
When considering issue-themed candidates’ debates, nothing in Canada has ever approached the size and scope of the 100 Debates on the Environment initiative. Hosted by local non-profits, scientists, health professionals and businesses, the debates took place in church basements and auditoriums in nearly every province and territory, with urban, suburban and rural ridings all well represented.
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For more information or interview requests, including with local organizers, please contact: Skye Vallance, Communications and Development Coordinator, CPAWS-BC | skye@cpawsbc.org | 604.685.7445 x22.
*Live Video Recording available on the 100 Debates x CPAWS-BC Facebook event page
ABOUT CPAWS-BC
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – British Columbia (CPAWS-BC) is dedicated to the protection of our public land and water, and ensuring our parks are managed to protect the nature within them. Our vision is to establish large, intact areas of wilderness on land and in the ocean that can nurture nature through climate change and support all life, Visit www.cpawsbc.org for more information.
ABOUT 100 DEBATES:
100 Debates is a national initiative to organize inclusive, politically neutral, and environment-focused all-candidates debates in communities across Canada. Local collaborators include national non-profits, schools, individuals, citizens\’ groups and businesses. Most debates are scheduled to take place on the same day, Oct 3rd, in over 100 ridings in Canada and have been coordinated by GreenPAC – Canada’s non-partisan organization that works to build environmental leadership in politics. Visit www.100debates.ca for more information.
