Invite For Members And Donors Town Hall
- 23 hours ago
- 2 min read
UPDATE / INVITE FOR MEMBERS AND DONORS TO CWVPOS TOWN HALL
The Society has had a busy month, with the website launch, communications with the BC and Federal Governments, and the recent addition of two new Board members. I’d like to welcome Rick Brost of the Akiskinook Community and Peter McClinton of the Baltac Community to the Society’s board.
The Website has been popular with almost 800 visits in the first two weeks. Almost 80 individuals have joined our membership, adding to our almost 1,000 households through our strata and organization members. Fundraising has been active, and almost $90,000 has been raised, primarily through our strata and community members.
We communicated on May 7 with the Federal Transport Canada (‘TC”) regarding the ʔakisq̓ nuk First Nation (“AFN) application to TC for Vessel Operating Restriction Regulations (“VORR”) to effectively restrict “wake mode” operations on the Columbia and Windermere Lakes. Further, given the AFN application, TC recognizes the AFN as the Lake Authority for Windermere and Columbia Lakes in this process. The AFN will be required to undertake a process of consultation, and our letter should enable us to participate in the process regarding boating restrictions for the lakes. The TC guidelines must ensure the VORR process is modern, open and transparent and everyone affected must be given the opportunity to express their views and share feedback.
With regard to our communication with the BC Government and our March 6 letter, we received a response regarding our request for information from the BC government regarding their discussions with the AFN in their pursuit of a moratorium on foreshore development and indigenous led Lake Stewardship. The BC Government is late in providing us with this information and we agreed to a requested extension by them to mid-July.
Recently the AFN announced they intend to conduct a comprehensive lake study ($200,000 estimated) covering bathymetry, water quality, and economic impact, claiming that inaccurate information has circulated stating that wake boats have not caused damage to the lake. We have posted summaries from objective government studies over the last decade on our website and will continue to do so. We are concerned that given the AFN have already applied to ban wake boats and have clearly stated their opposition to recreational boating, that their research will be biased to a pre-determined outcome.
We are planning a virtual Town Hall, scheduled for June 23 at 7:00pm, which will be available through a zoom link shared with our members and community partners by email. As President of the Society, I will provide an overview of our activities. The format will entail a presentation followed by a question period.
We look forward to see you at the Town Hall.
Douglas Kay,
President CWVPOS
Zoom Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88121129459?pwd=WZubBtsM05Fwfn3CKf2kEhjcW9lFVi.1