In addition to the Jan. 10 release of the National Current Employment Statistics revealing Premier Christy Clark’s Jobs Plan as a failure, British Columbians received even more evidence that the B.C. Liberals’ self proclamation as good economy managers, again proves to be a complete fallacy.
A new study released by The Center for Responsible Travel at Stanford University in Washington demonstrates how economically wrong-headed it is for B.C. Liberals to continue supporting grizzly and black bear killing.
The study shows in 2012, bear viewing in the Great Bear Rainforest generated 12 times more in visitor spending than bear hunting and over 11 times more in direct revenue for B.C.’s provincial government. The study found that bear-viewing companies directly employed an estimated 510 persons in 2012, while guide hunting outfitters generated only 11 jobs that same year.
In a rather sneakily timed, Dec. 18, 2013, B.C. government press release we learn that B.C. taxpayers funded a study that appears to support our government’s intention to re-open four more regions of the province to grizzly bear killing.
Although hunters pay a license fee, a costly part of this senseless and cents-less equation is the amount of tax-payer money spent on complex hunting regulations.
In response to a letter I sent MLA Michelle Stilwell, her assistant said the public input period on re-opening parts of the province to grizzly bear hunting ended on Dec. 20 and a final decision on the issue has not been made.
Whether people knew about the time limit to comment or not, I hope people will still write the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations and that the B.C. Liberals realize the majority of British Columbian’s and tourists world-wide disapprove of any grizzly bear hunting.
Ronda Murdock
Parksvill
