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VICTORIA – The provincial and federal governments, the Greater Vancouver Regional District, and the Corporation of Delta have submitted an offer of $78.7 million to acquire 5,426 acres within Burns Bog, Premier Gordon Campbell said today.
The offer involves the original 5,004 acres deemed necessary to protect the bog as outlined in a 2000 Environmental Assessment Office ecosystem review. The offer includes an additional 422 acres that will further enhance the protection of Burns Bog.
“We committed in our New Era platform to protect and preserve Burns Bog, and today’s offer brings us one step closer to that goal,” said Campbell. “We have worked with all other governments to build a partnership that protects the bog. This is a significant offer. We hope that it will be approved and that it will enable us to move forward in preserving Burns Bog for future generations.”
If the offer is approved, the parties will contribute as follows: the Province of B.C., $28.6 million; the Government of Canada, $28 million; GVRD, $14.2 million; and the Corporation of Delta, $7.9 million. The B.C. Supreme Court will now be asked to approve the sale of the land. The timing of this approval depends on the Court’s response.
Burns Bog is the largest raised peat bog on the west coast of North America, and makes a significant contribution to improving air quality in the Lower Mainland. It is an excellent example of a self-sustaining ecosystem that contains an impressive diversity of wildlife and plants.
“The Government of Canada is committed to strengthening and enhancing its conservation efforts using progressive partnering approaches,” said the Honourable David Anderson, Canada's Minister of Environment. “In collaboration with government partners and the broader community, we are working to conserve ecosystems with high biological values like Burns Bog, for today’s generations and those of the future.”
“We in the Greater Vancouver Regional District have always recognized Burns Bog as a priceless and irreplaceable jewel in the long-term sustainability of the region’s natural environment,” said Marvin Hunt, chair of the GVRD board of directors. “I am very pleased that, in co-operation with our partners, we are able to move towards acquisition of the property, which the GVRD will manage, in conjunction with an operating agreement with the Corporation of Delta, on behalf of the citizens of British Columbia.”
“When the partners first met in Delta Municipal Hall,” related Mayor Lois Jackson, “I said to them, we are going to leave our politics at the door and see if, together, we can accomplish this for the people. The credit for today’s historic achievement belongs to the people of Delta, the people of British Columbia, and the people of Canada. It is their insistence, their persistence, their money and their caring that has led to this day. Their voices were loud and clear. And their governments, at all levels, listened.”
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