West Coast Environmental Law
Research Foundation Workshop

SFU Harbour Centre, Vancouver, Friday, June 14, 1996

Urban Streams in Other Jurisdictions, Richard Paisley, UBC

No speaking notes available No notes from Richard Paisley's speech are available. The following is a summary made at the workshop.

Summary

The results of a comparative research study showed three preliminary trends. First, it is not always possible to transplant development ideas and recommendations from other jurisdictions to BC; their objectives may be quite different than ours. Enforcement is the key thing. We should be enforcing the laws we have rather than looking for the "magic bullet" to solve all our problems. Second, we should not be fooled by "in the works" talk. For example, we still don't have groundwater legislation in BC. Finally, bad legislation is worse than none.

The heart of the question is what is out there elsewhere which could help here with stream protection, particularly in urban areas. Three legal tools in this regard are: minimum instream flow protection, Wild and Scenic Rivers Protection (valuable because they capture the public imagination) and certification of environmental professionals. Everyone involved with the Historical Rivers and Recreational Route program agreed on the need for instream flow protection and on the Wild and Scenic Rivers design.

Having spoken to lots of people, Richard Paisley concludes that existing initiatives are not adequate and that new initiatives are needed on multiple levels. Effective legislation is important. Based on experience elsewhere, new initiatives must have certain key features in order to be credible and effective. These features are: legislative action (not just policy), a strong declaration of purpose, minimum instream flows, rivers and recreational routes, an independent board to oversee rivers, and a rigorous classification system. The Heritage Rivers strategy lacks almost all of these.

Discussion

Question (to Ann). What are the income tax implications of conservation covenants?

Response. It may be too early to tell. She hasn't tracked the effect of the changes but it is an important issue to look at. According to Richard, someone is tracking this issue.