BC NDP leader David Eby and BC Conservative interim leader Lorne Doerkson traded accusations as questions mounted about the Massey Tunnel and forestry land transfers tied to First Nations agreements.
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As the province processes Wednesday night’s leaders’ debate, BC NDP leader David Eby and BC Conservative interim leader Lorne Doerkson accused each other of hiding information from the public.
Eby said Doerkson had not attended public engagements, despite an infrastructure announcement that would cancel the long-overdue, over-budget and under-construction Massey Tunnel project and replace it with a bridge.
Speaking in Surrey on Thursday, Eby said the tunnel plan had not survived follow-up questioning, asking: “It’s just another example of a proposal that doesn’t survive follow-up questioning. Well, how long’s it going to take? How much is it going to cost? Are we going to lose the federal funding?”
Eby added: “Where is the Conservative leader to defend this proposal? Where is he? I don’t see him anywhere. He has the answers, he just doesn’t want to give them to the people of British Columbia.”
Eby’s comments were followed by controversy of his own after confidential documents were shared suggesting the NDP had been examining how it could change compensation policies for forestry companies when land they are permitted to log on is transferred to a First Nation.
The suggested proposal would avoid paying compensation if less than five per cent of the land is transferred, according to the documents.
Eby said the land transfers—about 380 parcels—are public record and are elements of treaties signed over the years to resolve disputes over title.
He said: “Agreements with First Nations around forestry enable the forest sector to go ahead,” adding that “Court challenges to forest tenures, to cutting permits and other things, mean that the industry totally stalls out.”
Kim Haakstad, president and CEO of the BC Council of Forest Industries, said forestry companies should not have to bear the costs. “They’re taking costs that we think should be borne by government, which is all of the costs related to any given agreement, and saying, ‘Industry should absorb some of this,’” Haakstad said.
Haakstad said it was not possible for the industry to support the approach because it is unclear how much land—or value—those parcels represent. He also said the NDP believes about 200 of the parcels could affect forestry operations, but that the specific locations are not known.
He said: “We don’t know the locations, and that also means we don’t know what the impact on the forest tenures would be, but we assume that they see it to be substantial. With the information that we have, it’s not something that we can support.”
Eby’s NDP said the confidentiality of the engagement process is standard and that the land transfers are needed to allow major projects to move forward.
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