Over the past few weeks WPC has been taking part in the Dock Management Plan Advisory Group (DMPAG). This group is very new and still very much a work in progress. We are encouraged by the formation of the DMPAG, but it will take time to see how the meetings progress before we can decide how impactful and productive the Advisory Group will be. The WPC reinforced the need to make the 1700 letters public as originally promised by the Ministry. We are hopeful they will release these, while protecting the privacy of the individuals who made submissions. 

We have been working extremely hard to condense our research and make it available to the DMPAG, along with the concerns of our Coalition Members. Last week, under a very tight timeline, we circulated some very important information prepared by our Science Committee.  

The WPC Science Committee assembled four documents on the environmental science and engineering aspects of the DMP. Our goal is to make DMPAG participants aware of our members’ concerns and other perspectives that exist across the swiya in relation to the DMP. This information will be extremely beneficial at different stages in the DMPAG and we are excited to share these documents with you: 

THANK YOU to all of our qualified professionals and industry experts who volunteered their time, energy and expertise on this WPC Science Committee project. We could not have done this without you! 

Other News: 

Last week Minister Cullen discussed the DMP at length in the legislature. We are hopeful that his comments will translate into more clearly defined information on grandfathering. We will continue to seek clarity to ensure Minister Cullen makes written and actionable commitments with respect to grandfathering. Transparency, clarity and implementation specifics have been missing from the DMP process in the past. Any proposed solutions must be workable for all those affected. 

In addition to our work with the Government, WPC is continuing to unite voices across the Province. We are growing our Coalition, educating dock owners and continuing to support our Coalition Members.  

Last week WPC took part in the swiya Lake Stewardship Alliance Town Hall (sLSA).  We are fully committed to supporting both lake and ocean groups in any way we can. The sLSA is an important Coalition member and we have been working very closely with them over the past few months. We are thankful for their support, encouragement and their hard work. 

Recently the WPC also met with our Coalition members and spoke together at the Property Responsibility Waterfront Association (PROW) Town Hall in Saanich. They are currently under a dock moratorium and facing dock plan issues.  Corey Johnson, a member of our Science Committee and board member of Southern Gulf Islanders for Collaboration and Reconciliation, described how he is aware of 80 dock applications sitting with the government and nothing moving ahead in that region. 

Adam Olsen, MLA for Saanich North and the Islands also issued a Press Release last week featuring an exchange between himself and Minister Cullen on docks. Click here to read the release. 

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