Friday, July 31, 2020, Afternoon — Committee A
To the minister, just so I can clarify for him, it was, in fact, an electric vehicle courier service. I'll inform him that they've already left and gone to another community because the minister didn't get his act together and approve the opportunity for Qualicum Beach. The town of Qualicum Beach made repeated requests about all the businesses, but especially the glulam business opportunity, because it's in his mandate letter. The ministry is the only ministry that needs to sign a variance under the airport policy. There is no process for applying other than that the ADM can simply sign off. Section 7.1.3 states: You can see the Crown grant lease needs a variance. The policy even says that if it has additional revenue generation, that's great. The ADM can simply sign off the variance saying that it's good. But FOI requests show it never went that far. Basically the town has been given the runaround. I sure would like to know what discussions were happening behind the scenes, because even after being denied, the town asked what would be accepted or approved under the variance section 7.1.3, and they were told: "Nothing — nothing would be approved." So why even have a variance process with no formal application and no way of ever being approved? Given the fact that B.C. is experiencing these unprecedented economic damages and deficits in 2020 and given…. The Premier has specifically tasked the minister with doing everything your government can to, again, "expand the innovative wood products sector by addressing regulatory and capital barriers hampering the growth of engineered wood production." And given that you are specifically responsible for economic development on government lands, including those leased or otherwise granted to other levels of government — including the regional districts, the towns, the cities…. If the Premier has asked FLNRO to address regulatory barriers, why has the minister created a regulatory barrier that is blocking value-added forestry coming to Qualicum Beach? Tell the House. Tell the people of Qualicum Beach — the town staff, the council of Qualicum Beach — why your department has slow-walked or deliberately killed three potential economic projects at the town of Qualicum Beach?
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