And another giveaway from the Liberals to a company that has Rich Coleman's brother in an executive position. I used to live near Jordan River and it was a pretty special place.
The University of Victoria's Environmental Law Clinic has asked the provincial auditor general to investigate the government's decision to allow Western Forest Products to take private lands out of tree farm licences on Vancouver Island without public consultation and without demanding compensation.
The law clinic, acting for the Sea to Sea Greenbelt Society and supported by organizations ranging from unions and First Nations to ratepayers and recreational groups, wants an opinion from Acting Auditor General Errol Price on whether the public has suffered an economic loss and whether environmental protection and public recreation is being compromised.
"On the face of it, it doesn't seem to be very prudent management," said Calvin Sandborn, the clinic's legal director.
"It doesn't seem to serve the public interest. It's great for Western Forest Products, but not for the workers and local residents and environmentalists and people in urban planning and surfers and First Nations."
In January, Forests Minister Rich Coleman announced that WFP would be allowed to remove 28,283 hectares of private land from three tree farm licences on Vancouver Island, without paying compensation -- a previously recognized principle.
The province did put conditions on the deal, including a three-year ban on log exports from the lands, First Nations access, protection of community watersheds and protection of Roosevelt elk and black-tail deer winter ranges.
But, those conditions apply only as long as WFP owns the land, according to a letter from Coleman.
Under tree-farm licence arrangements, when a company has privately owned land in a licence -- as in this case -- it agrees to follow stringent logging rules. In exchange, it gets guaranteed access to timber on Crown land.
Since WFP has taken those lands out now, the law clinic suggests it should be forced to financially compensate the government for that privilege.
"In the past, both government and industry have recognized that, if the public loses the benefit of having private lands contained in a TFL while the licensee continues to harvest on the TFL's Crown land, compensation to the Crown is appropriate," the law clinic paper says.
The private lands question came to a head this week with WFP's conditional sale to developer Ender Ilkay of more than 2,000 hectares of land in several parcels west of Victoria -- around Shirley, Jordan River, Jacob Creek, Muir Creek and the Sooke Potholes.
Sales of the spectacular waterfront and forested land, including the Jordan River townsite, campsite and surfing beach, are a windfall for the forestry company, according to the law clinic.
"Government's apparent failure to obtain compensation from WFP and to adequately protect public interests threatened by the deletions suggests there has been uneconomic, inefficient and ineffective management of public resources," says the audit request.
Sandborn said he does not know whether removal can be reversed, but, special bodies could be set up to control development and protect the environment.
"This is Victoria's wild coast experience and the province has a responsibility to protect that as a public asset," he said.
Assistant auditor general Morris Sydor said the information is being reviewed to see whether it will be pursued.
At a packed public meeting with Ilkay and WFP chief operating officer Duncan Kerr in Shirley Monday night, speakers accused Coleman of betraying the public trust.
"There's an elephant in the room who isn't here," said environmentalist Vicky Husband, referring to Coleman.
Malahat-Juan de Fuca NDP MLA John Horgan said he asked government about the lack of consultation and compensation.
"The elephant said he had no need to consult because the law provided for deletion," he said.
Kerr, in an interview yesterday, said the sales are needed to improve the company's balance sheet.
"The name of the game in business is: If you have an asset that contributes to your core business, you operate it. If it doesn't contribute it doesn't make sense to hang on to it," he said.
WFP needs to invest in mills on the coast to keep the industry viable, he said.
Kerr would not say whether more land from the 12,000 hectares that WFP has removed from the TFL on southern Vancouver Island will be put up for sale, saying it depends on the business climate and land values.