LETTER TO THE EDITOR — Bill C-48 jeopardizes marine resources

Bill C-48 proposes to create marine parks in Canadian waters and will affect access to fishing, hydrocarbons and minerals in our seas. It died during the last session in Ottawa but reportedly is about to be resurrected. Heritage Canada, under minister Sheila Copps, is promoting this enormous taking of our natural resources.

Future generations will not have access to billions of barrels of hydrocarbons sitting off the coast of British Columbia because Ottawa is planning to take them away from us. The Maritimes at least have some agreement on hydrocarbons, but that region too will lose access to fishing and mineral resources. This will happen in B.C. without proper studies being done (we cannot afford to do the work) and without hearing about it (communications when the bill first appeared were poor) from the bureaucrats pushing for this resource grab.

For the record, mining representatives identified as stakeholders by Heritage Canada included the Montreal office of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, rather than the provincial chapter; the Mining Association of Canada in Ottawa, which can’t afford to post a man to watch for land withdrawal, much less marine withdrawal; and the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee, the environmentalists currently causing more waste of money on the Diavik project.

Many native settlements, purveyors of surfboards and whale-watching charters on the coast of B.C. were contacted, as were most environmental groups. The mining industry was not contacted, and the B.C. government agency listed as having been consulted was the Park and Ecological Reserves planning branch of the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks.

Of the 338 groups informed of Bill C-48, more than 50 were not even Canadian, and our mining industry was ignored. I was informed not by Heritage Canada, but by my member of parliament, Ted White, who knew that I had an interest in the natural resources sector, including ocean minerals.

Mining people may not think this is important, as we do not have much in the way of ocean mining operations yet. It is very important, as it will cost taxpayers just to regulate the proposed bill, not to mention the loss of resource revenue and yet-to-be-dreamed-of aboriginal marine claims. The identified resources in “black smokers” of the West Coast may be as valuable as Windy Craggy.

I hope some of your readers can join me in telling Ottawa that C-48 will make bad law and is an unnecessary waste of taxpayers’ money.

Ben Ainsworth, P.Eng.

Ainsworth-Jenkins Holdings

Vancouver, B.C.