Sather Stands up for Upper Pitt, Agriculture in Budget Response
VICTORIA-Protecting the Upper Pitt River and the agricultural land base in the communities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows were at the heart of New Democrat MLA Michael Sather’s response to the Budget in the Legislature.
Michael Sather"I want to talk about an area that's near and dear to me and to many British Columbians, and that's the Upper Pitt River area at the north end of Pitt Lake," said the MLA for Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows in the Legislature Wednesday.
In his response to the Campbell government’s budget, Sather focused on the Upper Pitt River and his concerns about power projects which will pose detrimental impacts to habitat in the area.
“Currently there is a plan called Run of River Power Inc., to dam and divert eight streams in the Upper Pitt River,” said Sather. “One of the problems with the dam-and-divert project is that there has been no reasonable access to the public in terms of decision-making around this. Local government decision-making has been pushed aside and the land use planning process that we used to have with the local resource management plans is no longer there. There's no way for the public to have a say in the formative parts of any project like this.”
Sather voiced great concern over the environmental impacts the dam-and-divert project will have on the natural habitat in the area. “The largest population of Coho in the lower Fraser Valley is there in the Upper Pitt. The Coho salmon is a fishery that's very much under duress. They're at their lowest levels ever,” said Sather.
“The salmon and the trout in that system depend on these streams for both spawning and rearing. It's extremely important habitat. The streams are the lifeblood of the whole system there. They are the basic nuts and bolts of how a fishery works, how fish survive.”
Sather highlighted some of the challenges facing agricultural land in his constituency, including the proposal that roads be built right through farms. “When I look at what's happening with transportation I see in my constituency, the Abernethy connector that has gone through two heritage farms and an organic farm,” said Sather.
“The transportation minister doesn't seem to have any concern about that and says that's TransLink's problem. Now I see another road being proposed through agricultural land in my community and I’m very concerned of the threat these roads will impose upon agricultural land.”
Sather further voiced concern over the preservation of agricultural land in relation to the government’s removal of land through green zones. “The Campbell government has made it easier to get land out of the green zone. All our agricultural land in Maple Ridge is in the green zone. So this simply is a way to make it easier to develop agricultural land.
“Where does the government come down on that? On the one side they're saying they're green, but on the other side the Agriculture Minister says they've got a great agricultural plan. But when you look at the protection for the land base, it's simply not there. What we see is erosion of the land base, and that's of great concern to me and to my constituents.”
Sather also cautioned the government over the proposed transmission line through Pinecone Burke Park that could pose serious impacts on the grizzly population in the area.
“The subalpine wetland habitats in Steve and Pinecone Creek watersheds provide valuable forage for grizzly bears living in this area,” said Sather. “This is critical habitat, the proposed transmission line would threaten the viability of the grizzly population there.”
A full transcript of Michael Sather’s speech to the House can be accessed here.
