ADAM OLSEN -- These resources do not exist solely for our economic benefit. They are part of an inter-connected web of biodiversity
A few months ago, I wrote on the whiteboard in my office boardroom "big bears, big fish and big trees." Those words have been there ever since. They are three world-famous icons of British Columbia. In a previous post , I said that we are still acting like a resource colony. My critique of our decision-making process is that we have a culture in our province that the bountiful natural resources that bless our lands and oceans exist a) for the benefit of humans and, b) for the benefit of some other foreign or corporate interest. Strip it and ship it! When Europeans showed up in boats on the west coast of North America and established a presence here, corporations such as the Hudson's Bay Company began extracting wealth from "their" newly found territory. Forestry, mining, fishing and agriculture are the foundational industries of our province. It took little time for European settlers to begin stripping and shipping the wealth on behalf ...