The following is a letter MLA Guy Gentner sent to Eliza Olson, President of the Burns Bog Preservation Society, January 16th, 2008.

Dear Eliza,

I believe that the Campbell’s government Climate Change Bill is a farce. Transportation Minister, Kevin Falcon’s insistence of ploughing the South Fraser Perimeter Road (SFPR) through Burns Bog flies in the face reducing the lower mainland’s carbon footprint. You have championed the scientific fact that Burns Bog sequesters carbon and this government doesn’t give a damn.

I remember well the day four levels of government converged in order to sign a memorandum of agreement to purchase Burns Bog and a conservation covenant that would commit all partners to the maintenance of the ecosystem’s viability.

We were all buoyed. The community had worked so hard and finally Burns Bog was protected. I remember it well because I was part of the negotiating team while on Delta Council, but today is a black day for the bog and trust of a provincial government that has lost its way. It seems the Gateway zealots will stop at nothing.

In a recent publicly released letter from Environment Canada (August 14, 2007) the federal government environmental agency came down hard on Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon’s plan for pushing the South Fraser Perimeter Rd through Burns Bog. The letter stated that the province should consider scrapping its proposed plans and find an alternate route.

As you know I am an advocate for preserving farmland and sensitive environmental areas within the Fraser River Estuary and what concerns me is that regardless of these warnings of environmental degradation the provincial Ministry of Transportation plans to go ahead. Last week the Ministry requested an extension to the review in order that it can rationalize further destruction of Burns Bog.

Last fall while in the Legislature, I witnessed the Minister of Transportation’s tactic during the Translink debate in the legislature: The Message is always the same: Don’t stand in the way of bulldozer Falcon, because he’ll mow you down, regardless of the facts.

The Environment Canada (EC) letter is clear and the technical review is overwhelming, but the government has already committed to a fixed route by acquiring land before the science has been concluded. It certainly is Mr. Falcon’s way.

In the early years of its first mandate the Liberals compromised the provincial Environmental Assessment Office; however, that should not taint the environmental stewardship shared by Canada, BC, Metro Vancouver, Delta and the Burns Bog Conservation Society. Thank heavens the federal environment regulator still has some sense of integrity.

Environment Canada did not mince words:

If the highway is built…there are very high risks of negative impacts on bog hydrology.

The message is clear: The SFPR will compromise hydrology and will adversely affect natural, unique bog amenities such as plants, wildlife, and habitat.

In its technical review Environment Canada stated that Burns Bog can only exist with a sustainable, non-compromised transition zone, often referred to as the lagg zone. It is in this area where the province is proposing the freeway. Environment Canada stated in its Technical Appendix: Environmental Assessment of South Fraser Perimeter Road, that

In summary, Environment Canada believes that the value of the Bog is seriously compromised …there is presently no evidence that the multiple functions…of a natural lag, including its unique ecological characteristics, can be replaced by and engineered structure.” P.7

The province’s proposal is deficient and clearly EC doesn’t accept Kevin Falcon’s plan.

Long term viability of Burns Bog is at considerable risk by the project. Environment Canada went on to say, that

Should the SFPR proceed as currently proposed, Environment Canada is concerned that the project will compromise the ability of the GVRD and its partners to meet their commitment under the covenant, including restoring the bog in accordance with the recently approved Burns Bog Conservation Area Management Plan.

The BC Liberal government has a tradition of disregarding contractual obligations and its actions on this project will show not only its contempt for the environment but disdain for local and regional governments. The re-assignment of Gateway’s Executive Director, Mike Proudfoot to Assistant Deputy Minister of Transportation is a clear indication that Kevin Falcon will continue with his old bullying habits.

The Liberal’s currently designed South Fraser Perimeter Rd will not only result in the release of more carbon, but will destroy hundreds of acres of farmland, compromise valuable ecosystems, impact residential areas, and destroy riparian habitats along the Fraser River. The Liberal climate change agenda is literally smoke and mirrors.

Please find attached a Press Release announced today by the Opposition Caucus. Let’s hope the government comes to its senses and realizes that any disturbance of the bog no matter where located can have a detrimental effect on the bog whole. I support your efforts to continue to preserve Burns Bog.

Best Wishes,

Original signed by GG

Guy Gentner,
MLA Delta North