There’s an interesting commonality in how Ingmar Lee has approached his purchase of the mineral rights of Bear Mountain (see the article reprinted below) and the provincial government rules that have allowed greater “flexibility” at the municipal level.  In both cases, civic government and Mr. Lee are taking advantage of new provincial regulations that allow unheard of speed of action with a minimum of oversight.

   In the case of the mineral rights rules, the flexibility inherent in the new rules allows people to make mineral claims without ever setting foot on a property they’re claiming the rights to, or even the province.

   In the case of the many local concerns, the Community Charter was supposed to bring new accountability to municipal government but it seems to have not had the intended effect.  The media is full of growing citizen revolts against city councils, including some in our community (of which City Hall’s plans to borrow millions of dollars without public approval is just one).  When I ran in the May 2005 provincial election, one of my three themes was empowering communities.  However, I fear communities have now been empowered without the adequate oversight that would give checks and balances to protect citizens.  While this isn’t a new issue, the growing concerns in places such as Mission, Langford, and untold numbers of smaller centres is very new and suggests this problem continues to get worse rather than better.

- Steven Hurdle -

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Mineral claim system too loose

Times Colonist Read the rest of this entry »

**UPDATE #4**  I am told by Shaw that they consider this piece one of their biggest ones for the week, and as such it may air on ”The Daily” again this weekend.  Channel 11′s “The Daily” is always on a half-hour loop, so you can catch a half-hour of the show sometime this weekend if you want to see if the news story is featured again as anticipated. **

**UPDATE #3** The piece is airing right now, and will air (I am told) as part of a loop until 4 AM tomorrow morning. The reason for the delay was that Stew Young apparently considered being interviewed, but despite the extra time he was given ultimately declined to speak on camera. **

Shaw Community Cable’s “The Daily” current affairs show on Channel 11 is producing a piece on recent events in Langford.  It will discuss the Bear Mountain mineral rights, changes to the mood of the community, and other related issues.  The show interviews myself, some Bear Mountain people, and MLA John Horgan (Stew Young was reportedly invited, but Read the rest of this entry »

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- Steven Hurdle -