March 18 2002

Over The Edge Page 14

Campsite
Closures

By Robert Broughton

In a recent speech to the
New Westminster Chamber of
Commerce, Minister of Water,
Land and Air Protection Joyce
Murray said that government
could improve if it were run
more like a business. | regret
that | was not in the audience,
and was thus unable to ask
her how closing hundreds of
campgrounds’ in British
Columbia fits into Premier
Campbell's business plan.

That’s right, hundreds.
There have been press
reports about plans to close
40 or 50 campgrounds in
provincial parks, but the
Liberal government also plans
to close ALL of the camp-
grounds run by the Ministry of
Forests. When the Liberals
were in opposition, they criti-
cized the NDP for charging
user fees for these camp-
grounds.

Tourism. is one of B.C’s
most important products. Most
businesses that have a prod-
uct to sell have a marketing
strategy. Any good marketing
strategy identifies the target
market for the product, and
what makes the product
preferable to the competition’s
product.

Do the Liberals have a mar-
keting strategy for tourism? If
so, who is the target market?
Apparently, people who want
to spend a holiday enjoying
B.C’s forests, rivers, wildlife,
and mountains are no longer
important. Does the strategy
involve turning B.C. into some
combination of Las Vegas and
Disneyland, with vast expans-
es of clearcuts, and some

game farms for trophy
hunters? If so, it’s a foolish
strategy.

Hon. Murray also told the
Chamber that “a government's
primary job is to provide value
for all its citizens.” Well, B.C’s
provincial parks and crown
land represent value that
already belongs to us. Being
able to set up a tent in a
provincial park belongs to us.
Being able to set up atentina
provincial park or a Ministry of
Forests campsite may not be

legally defined as a right of
British Columbians, but . it
should be. The Ministry of
WLAP is also considering cre-
ating more concessions: in
provincial parks, along the
lines of what’s in Cypress
Provincial Park. Wherever this
is done, it would interfere with
the right to camp, fish, or just
enjoy the natural beauty of
B.C., and this infringement on
our rights cannot be tolerated.

Closing emergency rooms
and courthouses will create
problems for thousands of
British Columbians. So will
cutbacks in adult education,
taking welfare away from sin-
gle parents, and reducing the
minimum wage. Closing camp-
grounds goes beyond picking
on the ill and impoverished
among us. It doesn’t affect just
the fresh-air fanatics; it affects
every family in B.C. that is
accustomed to spending their
annual holiday enjoying the
things that make B.C. different
from Ontario or Mississippi. It
also hurts the small town own-
ers and employees of the gro-
cery stores and restaurants
where tourists buy food. It will
hurt businesses of all types in
rural areas of B.C. For exam-
ple, people travelling to Bella
Coola are dependent on the
Ministry of Forests campsites
along route 20.

This proposal
Minister of WLAP has con-
vinced me that words like
“uncaring,” “short-sighted,” and
“mean spirited” do not go far
enough when describing
Gordon Campbell's govern-
ment.

“Destructive” is appropriate.
We managed to survive gov-
ernments headed by Vander
Zalm and Clark, and we will
survive this one, too. However,
the sooner this government is
replaced by a less destructive
one, the better. We need to get
rid of this bunch before they
hand our provincial parks over
to foreign multinational giants
like Weyerhaeuser.

from the.

The Lesser of Evils -NDP vs Liberals

By Geoff Dean

Is it just me or is it amazing
how quickly people can forget
about the NDP and _ their
numerous feats of incredible
ineptness. The NDP had two
terms in office and used every
oportunity to stab us in the
back. Make no mistake, I’m no
fan of the B.C. Liberal govern-
ment, but at least they have
the decency to stab us in the
chest and not the back. I’m

writing this because | continue
to hear people say that they
should have voted for the NDP
instead of Gordon Campbell
and his loyal lapdogs. This
makes me cringe with fear.
When the NDP first came into
power B.C. had one of the
most vibrant economies in
Canada, now B.C. has sunk so
low that we have applied to be
a “have not” province.

It seems to me that the

NDP dug us into a hole and
the liberals are just digging it
deeper. What we need is a real
alternative to vote for during
the next election. Maybe it’s
the green party or maybe it's
the marijuana party, | don't
know; but remember the
Liberals have only screwed us
over for a few months, the
NDP ****ed us for years.

Your Campus, Your Culture,
Your Art, Your Activism:
Your Women’s Centre

The Northern Women’s
Centre at UNBC is looking for
female students interested in
making their mark on campus.

We are a not-for-profit, stu-
dent directed organization that
maintains a women’s-only
space on campus and pro-
vides services intended to
enhance the quality’ of
women’s lives. In the 2001-
2002 school year, the Centre:

efundraised for breast can-
cer ($800.00 raised)

ecelebrated local arts and
music with our annual all-night
festival, Jezebel’s Jam

efundraised for a local
woman’s charity that is dedi-
cated to getting young women
off the streets ($400.00 raised)

einitiated the Feed-A-
Starving-Artist Program, which
generates small honouraria for
artists’ work. and tries to
increases their exposure

eran a Volunteer Program in
which women from the Prince
George community learn writ-
ing, research, office and com-

puter skills
*co-ordinated a free speak-
er series on topics including

date rape, women in acade-

mia, midwifery, illegal drugs
and breast cancer

offered full sponsorship for
students, staff and faculty to
attend a two-day leadership
and anti-discrimination confer-
ence

eorganized a free clothing
swap to ensure that students
were clothed for the winter

*presented a play, The
Vagina Monologues, in con-
junction with the local theatre
production company Serious
Moonlight Productions

sliaisoned with local com-
munity organizations working
to assist women in crisis, such
as the Sexual Assault Centre,
Native Friendship Centre and
Two Rivers Art Gallery

ehelped fund a peace
march organized by PIRG

efacilitated community-wide
discussion forums focused on
the war in Afghanistan

eoffered free professional
dance classes, taught by
Tanya Nicholishen, a ballerina

_and first-year UNBC student

eand much, much, much
more.

The Centre is an excellent
platform for all kinds of action.
If you have an innovative idea
that you want to make reality,
or if you would like to help
direct our current programs
and initiatives, we would like to
hear from you. E-mail us at
empower @ unbc.ca or come to
a meeting. Meetings are held
at the Centre every Tuesday at
10:30 a.m. and are open to all
women. Don’t be shy. Just
walk right in! NOTE: Men can
make appointments to consult
with our resource..coordinator,
visit our Centre or.access our
resource library by leaving a
message for Nora at 960-
5632.

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