Tuesday, February 09, 2010

 

"BC Rail will be brought back into government and wound down as a Crown Corporation."

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It's only one line in the Throne Speech of February 9, 2010.  The timing and sneakiness are the hallmark of the premier. With the Olympics starting, not everyone would see that sentence about bringing BC Rail home in order to finish killing it off.

Once again, Gordon Campbell would have us thinking that BC Rail is a small thing, a worn-out old thing to toss aside. "Just move along, folks, thank you. Nothin' to see here. No, nothin' to see. Just keep movin' along ..."

But what about Deltaport? What about that spur line which runs to Roberts Bank? And what about the valuable lands owned by BC Rail? And as Gary E comments, what about the railbed itself? 

Reprinted from a June 28, 2009 posting:

BC Rail Lands ... attention, please

 

I found a DESCRIPTION OF LANDS at Schedule A in the 457-page "Revitalization Agreement".

There are 2,509 properties covering 101 pages under Part 1 - Fee Simple Lands.  Readers should look this up HERE
. The geographical locations of the properties are as follows:


North Vancouver, Ambleside, West Bay, West Vancouver-Piccadily N., Horseshoe Bay, Watts Pt., Coffee, Lions Bay, Cheakamus, Brunswick, Koster, Porteau, Britannia, Shan Fls., Squamish Site B,
Squamish (North Yard), Squamish downtown, Squamish (Brackend), Culliton Creek, Garibaldi, Whistler (McGir), Whistler (Alpha),
Whistler (Mons), Whistler (Wedge), Green River, Tisdall, Pemberton, Evans, Creekside, Birkenhead R., Birken, Gates, Darcy, Ponderosa, Marne, Seton, Shalalth, Retaskit, Lilloet, Polley, Fountain, Gibbs,
Glen Fraser, Pavilion, Moran, Kelly Lake, Lime, Clinton, Graham, Potter, Lone Butte, Canim, Edmund, Exeter, Tatton, Lac la Hache, Wright, Enterprise, Johnson, Onward,
Williams Lake, Meldrum, Mackin, Hawks, Hawks Creek, Soda Creek, Gibralter, MacAlister, Mackenzie, Alexandria, Windt, Australian, Kersley, Dragon, Westply, Quesnel, Baker, Barlow, Cottonwood, Bellos Creek, Greening, Dunkley, Colebank, Strathnaver, Hixon, Woodpecker, Crysdale, Stoner, Red Rock, Cale Creek, Tabor, Prince George, Quaw,
Salmon Valley, Nukko, Odell, Summit Lake, Barney, Hart, Killy, Valde, McIntyre, Tacheeda, Wakely, ANZAC, Firth, Hodda, Chinka, Kennedy, Garbitt, Lemoray, Falls, Hulcross, Pinesul, Dokie, Chetwynd, Bond, Worth, Septimus, Teko, Taylor, Baldonnel, Fort St John, Murdale,
Blue Hills, Buick, Snyder, Zeke, NIG, Beatton, Silver Lake, Tamarack, Gotah, Sikanni, Niteal, Needley, Fontas, Ekwan, Elleh, Klua, Fort Nelson, Odell, Merton, Liersch, Bugle, Carp, Fort St James, Tachie, Grand Rapids, Kuzkwa River, Takla Lake, Trembleur, Middle River, Natazulko Creek, Leo Creek, Takla Landing, Bluff, Lovell, Driftwood, Tetana, Azuklus Lake, Tsaytut Bay, Bear Lake, Bear River, Sustut Ridge, Goad, Gataiga Creek, Wabi, Perry, Sundance, Foss, Groundbirch, Tremblay, Progress, Kiskatinaw, Urquhart, Dawson Creek, Wakely, Parsnip, Klua, Boulder, Whitford, Azouzetta Ln, Sukunka, Wolverine, Tumbler Ridge, Teck, Murray, Quintette.



It was a betrayal of democracy which took the British Columbia Railway out of British Columbia hands against the majority wishes.


To continue to sneak what's left of this public asset into private pockets is nothing short of treachery. Criminal treachery.


Every citizen can do something to stop the give-away of further BCRail lands and assets, and to get the BC Rail trial under way in BC Supreme Court.  Just keep asking the questions.   - BC Mary.

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Copied, with permission, from Laila Yuile's blog:
Norman Farrell, on June 29th, 2009 said:

Near the Britannia lands, starting south of the mining museum, was a 450 acre parcel known as the Makin lands. This included a good amount of developable land and waterfront including the best beach in the area. A family dispute had the property tied up in litigation for years and the lawyers and the receiver kept it that way until the family’s equity on both sides of the dispute was sucked away. Wow, were they effective running up millions in fees to “protect” the land and its value.

Howe Sound and Britannia is an obvious site for major residential and townsite development. Fortunes will be made in the area two and three decades from now. When we have squeezed out the last of the Fraser Valley ALR, those picturesque mountain slopes and ocean views will be very attractive in Howe Sound. Building lot values of ocean view properties will be $50 – $100 a square foot, in today’s dollars.

Back in the nineties, when I was loosely attached, BC Rail was the key landowner of the region between West Van and Squamish. Everyone who looked at future land use in the corridor had two questions. About zoning and road planning and the key one, “What will BC Rail do?”

Campbell and his pal Jim Moody knew the railway was the key to fortunes, if not for themselves and their friends, but for their children and grandchildren.

A move you will see before Campbell leaves office will be the establishment of new municipal or regional district structures so local impediments won’t stop the big boys from doing what they want.

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 The Speech from the Throne, recorded in Hansard for Feb. 9, 2010, is HERE. Scroll down to "Opening up our Pacific Gateway".

The Throne Speech mention of BCRail is mentioned by Canadian Press HERE

Best Creative Presentation of a lot of bad news is Vancouver Sun HERE. And, good grief HERE where they praise Gordo for saving us from this continued BCRail "burden". Jeez, couldn't Gordo just cut the bloated salaries of the remaining CEO's??

But Tom Fletcher "gets it", paragraph #1: in Sooke News Mirror HERE

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Comments:
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Rick,

Please try again. The link you sent isn't working.
 
About new municipal structures - this has already begun. The Northern Rockies Regional District is now the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality. Despite the region's predominantly native population (outside of Fort Nelson) the area's First Nations are not involved in that government. Look for the same kind of thing on the Central Coast, at least (where there are not even any municipalities).
 
As I stated some 6 years ago when Campbell with tongue in cheek said "it's not a sale, we didn't sell the railbed we leased it". I said then just wait till everyones back is turned, he'll find a way to give the railbed away as well.
And that is precisely what is going to happen here folks. He has now completed the first big lie of his first election.
 
"A move you will see before Campbell leaves office will be the establishment of new municipal or regional district structures so local impediments won’t stop the big boys from doing what they want."

They may not need to establish new structures, they may just stick with the ridiculous "Resort Municipality" idea (ala Whistler). They are trying to apply that to the infamous Jumbo Pass city in the alpine proposal to get around the locals who tend to be opposed to the development.

The idea of a municipality where NO ONE lives other than elk, grizzly bears and such is absurd on its face. Of course since no one lives there, Victoria gets to choose the members of the Municipal Council - and we know the views (pro-development) they will have. Bears and ruminents need not apply to be representatives.

Another disturbing aspect of the throne (how appropriate that that is a common term for toilet) speech is Gordo's promise to streamline the enviromental process - as if it wasn't enough of a rubber stamp already. At the EAO information/community input meeting over Glacier/Howser AXOR in Kaslo last summer the EAO reps themselves COULD NOT think of a project they had failed to approve EVER, when asked to do so! They essentially admitted their most drastic action was to PERHAPS require minor modifications to the plan to assuage local concerns, under duress most likely.
 
And maybe not just municipal boards...have a look at the cryptic comments in the Throne Speech about public education. Something’s very likely to be coming in that area too.

I expect it won’t just be BC Rail lands on the auction block….
 
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