Overview Our Purpose Have You Heard What’s Happening at Goldstream? Initiatives so far ... Letter Writing Campaign: a sample letter addressing the proposed highway development in Goldstream Park The Children Remembered

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Below is the sample letter; please feel free to compose your own!
___________________________

Honourable David Eby, Premier 
premier@gov.bc.ca

Honourable Mike Farnworth
Minister of Transportation and Transit
Minister.MOTI@gov.bc.ca

Honourable Bowinn Mah
Minister of Infrastructure
INF.Minister@gov.bc.ca

Honourable Christine Boyle
 Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation
IRR.Minister@gov.bc.ca 

Honourable Tamara Davidson
Minister of Environment and Parks
ENV.Minister@gov.bc.ca

Dear Ministers,

I am writing to express my on-going concern about the Ministry of Transportation’s proposal within Goldstream Provincial Park.

Beyond my concern for the disruption of the ecological wonder of this place is my dismay at the intention of our Provincial Government to dismiss the voices of the WSANEC peoples and non-Indigenous citizens at a time when our province is apparently committed to the work of reconciliation.  Surely this is a prime opportunity for the Government to demonstrate what it means to provide leadership in this work.

There is so much we can be doing in and through this one case to foster public education – one of the great purposes of Provincial Parks. 

  • If we began to understand that this very location – the land, and the stream that runs through it – is a sacred ceremonial site of the WSANEC, surely we would be approaching this place with the same respect expected of us when visiting a temple, a mosque, a cathedral. 
  • If we began to understand that this location thrives because of the existing relationships between the trees, the water, the birds, the salmon, surely we would be refraining from disrupting the balance of this ecosystem.  
  • If we began to appreciate Indigenous understanding of the elements of the ecosystem as our relatives, with a mutual responsibility for care, imagine the benefits, even the healing properties we could all enjoy. 

In recent years the stretch of the #4 highway that cuts through Cathedral Grove enroute to Port Alberni has been designated a 30km/hour zone. It affords safety for people stopping to visit the park, and for people passing through, an opportunity to take in something of the wonder of that place. There is a high volume of traffic, both commercial and personal, that flows through this stretch, just as there is through Goldstream Park. Why can we not employ this proven practice within Goldstream Park?

What are the various Ministries (of Infrastructure, Transportation and Transit, Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, Environment and Parks) each with a responsibility in this case, doing toward ensuring a good and just outcome? 

What basis is there for our government to act in violation of the Douglas Treaty?

I appreciate your commitment to public service, and look forward to your response.