B.C. government gets 166,000-signature petition against parks’ law

VICTORIA – Environmental groups have delivered a petition to the B.C. government calling for the repeal of a law they say allows industrial research in provincial parks.

Petition host Angus Wong says 166,000 people signed it, suggesting there is a level of anger against the province, which is being accused of selling parks to interests such as oil and gas companies.

The legislation was passed in March and permits the removal of park land for exploratory research.

Nine environmental groups are behind the petition and say the government rammed through the legislation, which also allows for commercial filming in parks.

They say the province failed to do any public consultation about the future of parks and that they should be protected.

Peter Wood, of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, says more than 30 parks have already been earmarked for boundary adjustments for industrial purposes.