Take Action

Send A Letter re: Zincton Full Proposal

Send a letter – or even better, make a phone call – to local and provincial government representatives and let them know what you think. 

This is essential right now. It can make a big difference when politicians and decision-makers hear from us.

Here are a few points you could include in your letter:

  • Local and regional landscape level planning by government, in consultation with local stakeholders, is desperately needed for this New Denver-Kaslo corridor before any applications for development are allowed to proceed.
  • This area is a critical wildlife corridor, connecting Valhalla, Goat Range and Kokanee Glacier Parks.  It is core habitat for blue-listed grizzly bear, wolverine, mountain goat, and western toad (a federally listed species-at-risk).  Alpine, subalpine, wetlands, and 39 creeks in the proposed development area make this is a sensitive area in need of conservation.
  • As a treasured area important to locals and visitors who recreate, gather food, and hunt, it seems unjust to allow one developer to hold control over these cherished public lands. The Zincton proposal plans to attract about 1,300 visitors PER DAY to the area – an overwhelming increase in the impact to this land, never mind the increase in carbon footprint
  • Recreationists continue to get squeezed out by commercial interests. Multiple adventure tourism operators already have tenures in this area, resulting in increasingly limited public access.
  • These lands are called Piq kiʔláwnaʔ – the Sinixt word for the rare White Grizzly.  The Autonomous Sinixt strongly oppose this development.  It is unthinkable that in B.C. and Canada today, where reconciliation is of utmost importance, that government would allow a private company to appropriate yet another area of land traditionally used by Indigenous people.
  • The Zincton proposal will have a negative socio-economic impact on established local communities, as is demonstrated in studies on the effects of resort developments. Increased demand for seasonal real estate creates housing shortages and soaring property taxes, leaving full-time residents out in the cold.
  • Tourism is not a saviour. All local surveys and research show that residents want to develop the region through attracting full time residents with innovative approaches that allow for a diverse, ecologically intact, and economically robust community.

CONTACT INFO

Provincial Government

Ministers

Hon. Katrine Conroy, MLA Kootenay West and Minister of Finance
Mailing: Room 248 Parliament Buildings, Victoria, BC  V8V 1X4
Email:  FIN.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Phone: 250-387-3751
Fax: 250-387-1040

Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship
Hon. Nathan Cullen
, MLA Stikine 
Mailing: Room 027Parliament Buildings, Victoria, BC  V8V 1X4
Email: WLRS.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Phone: 778-405-3094

Minister of Environment & Climate Change Strategy
Hon. George Heyman
, MLA Vancouver-Fairview
Mailing:  Room 112, Parliament Buildings, Victoria BC V8V 1X4
Email:  ENV.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Phone: 250-387-1187

Minister of Forests
Hon. Bruce Ralston, MLA Surrey-Whalley
Mailing:  Room 138, Parliament Buildings, Victoria BC V8V 1X4 
Email:  FOR.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Phone: 250-387-6240

Minister of Indigenous Relations & Reconciliation
Hon. Murray Rankin
, MLA Oak Bay-Gordon Head
Mailing: Room 323, Parliament Buildings, Victoria BC V8V 1X4
Email: ABR.Minister@gov.bc.ca 
Phone: 250-953-4844

Local Governments

Village of Silverton

CAO – Hillary Elliott
250-358-2472   helliott@silverton.ca
P.O. Box 14, Silverton B.C. V0G 2B0

Mayor: Colin Ferguson
Councillors – Leah Main, Arlene Yofonoff, Clarence Denbok

Village of New Denver

Acting CAO – Lisa Scott
250-358-2316   office@newdenver.ca
P.O. Box 40, New Denver, B.C. V0G 1S0

Mayor – Leonard Casley
Councillors – John Fyke, Vern Gustafson, Colin Moss, Gerald Wagner

RDCK

Area H Representative – Walter Popoff
250-359-7455.  wpopoff@rdck.bc.ca
P.O. Box 590, Nelson B.C. V1L 5R4

Area D representative – Aimee Watson
250-304-5842. awatson@rdck.bc.ca
P.O. Box 902, Kaslo V0G 1M0

Village of Kaslo representative – Suzan Hewat
250-353-2311. shewat@rdck.bc.ca
P.O. Box 753, Kaslo V0G 1M0

MLA – Kootenay West

Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operation & Rural Development
Katrine Conroy

Castlegar Constituency Office
#2 – 1006 3rd Street, Castlegar, BC V1N 3X6
250-304-2783, 1-888-755-0556  Katrine.Conroy.MLA@leg.bc.ca

Victoria
250-387-6240 FLNR.Minister@gov.bc.ca

MLA – Nelson /Creston

Brittny Anderson

Nelson Constituency Office
433 Josephine Street
Nelson, B.C.  V1L 1W4
250-354-5944, 1-877-388-4498

Victoria
250-387-3655  brittny.anderson.MLA@leg.bc.ca

Federal Government

Member of Parliment – S. Okanagan – W.Kootenay

Richard Cannings

Castlegar: 250-365-2792
Ottawa: 613-996-8036
richard.cannings@parl.gc.ca