To the Editor,
Re: Foreign interests decide B.C. need ‘saving,’ Opinion, June 4
Like certain other right-wing commentators, Tom Fletcher tries to paint the environmental movement as a foreign-instigated attack on the Canadian economy, rather than a movement of local people who wish to conserve the ecosystems that sustain them.
The Marine Planning Partnership, which Fletcher alludes to in the column, is an initiative led by 18 First Nations and the B.C. government, with financial backing from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and administrative support from Tides Canada. The initiative aims to foster sustainable economic development alongside environmental stewardship. Fletcher minimizes the 18 First Nations, various provincial and local governments, and numerous local experts who were the architects of the initiative. He wants to remove domestic agents of change from the story by presenting them as little more than puppets of ominous American billionaires.
Fletcher needs to stop erasing local voices and misusing the facts for his partisan politicking, and needs to respect the fact that it is British Columbians themselves who are standing up for sustainable development and environmental conservation.
Yvonne du PlessisNanaimo
