Mayors Tell BC Government to Stop Sitting on the Sidelines and ‘Get It Done’

At the Get It Done BC forum, mayors warn that rural communities and industries like aquaculture, forestry, and mining, face collapse unless the provincial government steps up to defend them.

By Fabian Dawson
SeaWestNews

Mayors from across British Columbia are urging the provincial government to take a stronger stand in defending rural communities and the resource industries – including mining, forestry, and aquaculture – that drive local economies.

At a packed and energetic session during the Get It Done BC forum in Victoria, the mayors delivered a blunt message: if B.C. is to have a future built on shared prosperity, its government must stop sitting on the sidelines and start championing the industries that keep the province’s heartland alive.

The forum, organised by Resource Works and held on the eve of the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) conference, also served as the launchpad for the newly formed Alliance of Resource Communities.

“It’s time for an alliance of community leaders from all corners of the province to come together and strongly advocate for a secure and brighter economic future through the responsible development of our abundant natural resources,” said Campbell River Mayor Kermit Dahl.

Dahl, who spearheaded the formation of the Alliance, was part of a panel that included Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West and Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog. The panel discussion, United Mayors, One Message: Why Resource Communities Matter to All of B.C., was moderated by Dallas Smith, President and CEO of the Nanwakolas Council.

Dahl said that after Campbell River lost its sawmill and pulp mill while a major mine downsized, his community became heavily reliant on aquaculture, particularly salmon farming.

“Then the federal government started attacking aquaculture based on activist pressure…not for science-based reasons. It was just a small group of individuals that were super well-funded by some really wealthy Vancouverites, threatening 6,000 jobs and $1.7 billion in economic activity,” he said.

Despite repeated peer-reviewed studies concluding that salmon farms in B.C. pose less than a one-percent risk to migrating wild salmon, the Trudeau-era government announced plans to shut down all ocean-based salmon farms by 2029.

B.C.’s salmon farmers and their First Nations partners are now urging the Carney government to repeal the ban and replace it with a science-backed, Indigenous-led policy that delivers regulatory certainty and has the potential to generate $2.5 billion in annual output and 9,000 jobs by 2030.

“Our provincial government wasn’t standing up to the federal government, saying, ‘Whoa, hold on here, we can’t afford to lose $1.6 or $1.7 billion from this region. We can’t afford to lose thousands of jobs,’” said Dahl.

“Our provincial government wasn’t there to push back on the ban, and they are still not there to support the salmon farming sector. That silence has to end.”

Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog agreed.

“Fishing faces its challenges, but with an aquaculture industry that is given the support it needs, you can create incredible jobs, most importantly in Indigenous communities that otherwise, because of their isolation, would have little or no economy,” said Krog.

Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West said B.C.’s economy has become dangerously dependent on real estate while resource sectors have been left to decline by policy choices, not market forces.

“When I hear terms like ‘sunset industry,’ people who say that are full of shit.

“We need to get elbows up about who we are, what we do, why it matters, and what it means to this province. Have some pride in that. Don’t apologize. There’s no need to.”

“We are where we are because government has chosen to take us there through their policies and regulation. And anything that has been done that way sure as hell can be undone.

“We need to get back to fundamentals. We can’t have a province where everyone works in whale watching and coffee shops.”

Panel moderator Dallas Smith, who also serves as spokesperson for the   Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship (FNFSS), said the past six years of conflict over salmon farming have taken a heavy toll on coastal towns and Indigenous communities.

“We went from a time when unemployment was almost a lifestyle choice to hardworking people being told they can’t do their jobs anymore…not because of science, but because of decisions made to appease a handful of activists in Vancouver,” Smith said.

“It’s time for the grownups to sit down and have a real conversation about what’s best for all of B.C.”

Smith added that Indigenous leaders are working alongside the new mayors’ alliance to ensure First Nations voices are central to the push for sustainable resource development.

Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond said B.C. must urgently expand and diversify its markets.

“The world needs our critical minerals, our LNG, our lumber, our coal, our salmon, and many other exports that flow through our Pacific gateways. Let’s get it done,” he said.

Main image(L to R) shows Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West, Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog, Campbell River Mayor Kermit Dahl and Dallas Smith, President and CEO of the Nanwakolas Council during a panel discussion at the Get it Done BC Forum in Victoria.