Campbell avoids Jumbo talk

Sep 15, 2009

By Pieter Uni
Kootenay News Advertiser
September 15, 2009

Premier Gordon Campbell isn't ready to weigh in on the Jumbo issue just yet, as he side-stepped questions on the controversial development during Thursday's appearance in Cranbrook.

While speaking during a provincial budget luncheon hosted by Cranbrook's Chamber of Commerce, Campbell acknowledged concerns over the Jumbo issue and said the province has a lot of work to do before making a decision on how to proceed.

“We’re in the middle of a consultative process with the First Nations and a project review. I think there’s about 200 conditions on the development application that we’re going through. I respect the regional district’s direction to us and when the process is complete we’ll be in a position where we can make a decision.”

The $450-million development is approximately 55 kilometres west of Invermere at the foot of Jumbo Mountain and developers spent over 10 years seeking approval for the project from successive provincial governments before the master plan was approved by the Liberal government in 2007. Ever since, developers have been waiting for local zoning approval in order to move the project forward.

And while the decision is now in the hands of Campbell and the province, local officials maintain that the Jumbo decision should have been made by the Regional District.

Columbia River - Revelstoke MLA Norm Macdonald believes the decision should be made by those most affected by the proposed development.

"I think for it to proceed, we need to make sure this is the right project," said Macdonald. "We think that the decision is best left to the people who live there, and that is what the government needs to respect."

But in an interview with the Advertiser immediately following the decision, David Wilks, Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) director from Sparwood disagreed with the assertion that the board abdicated responsibility, explaining that the project was far too large for the local government to handle.

"The planning department would not be able to function if they took on this project," said Wilks. "Some people believe it wouldn't cost much but the project would cost approximately $195,000 for a public hearing and OCP development, but that does not include any other requirements that the planning department would be required to take on in future years."

Despite the close vote, Wilks believed the board acted in the best interest of everyone involved.

"The board of directors made the right decision," he said, "we were in a difficult situation, if RDEK made a decision that the province did not agree with, the province could still overrule it, create a resort municipality and the RDEK’s work would be proved worthless," adding that if the RDEK decided to allow the building of the resort, organizations like Wildsight would be able to take their argument to court. And if the RDEK decided to refuse the request to build the resort, there would be a reaction on the part of the Jumbo Glacier Resort Corporation.