Request for New Legislation to Protect and Restore Biological Diversity and Ecosystem Health

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Preserving and protecting over 450 islands and surrounding waters in the Salish Sea 
Bowen  Denman  Hornby  Gabriola  Galiano Gambier  Lasqueti  Mayne  North Pender  Salt Spring  Saturna  South Pender  Thetis 
 
 
 
200-1627 Fort Street, Victoria BC  V8R 1H8 
Telephone  (250) 405-5151    Fax  (250) 405-5155 
Toll Free via Enquiry BC in Vancouver 604.660.2421.  Elsewhere in BC 
1.800.663.7867 
Email  information@islandstrust.bc.ca 
Web  www.islandstrust.bc.ca 
 
July 15, 2022      File No.: 0400-30 Ministries 
 
Via email: FLNR.minister@gov.bc.ca; LWRS.Minister@gov.bc.ca; katrine.conroy.MLA@leg.bc.ca;  
josie.osborne.MLA@leg.bc.ca  
 
The Honourable Katrine Conroy    The Honourable Josie Osborne 
Minister of Forests     Minister of Land, Water, and Resource Stewardship 
PO Box 9049 Stn Prov Govt    PO Box 9012 Stn Prov Govt 
Victoria, BC V8W 9E2    Victoria, BC V8M 9L6   
 
Dear Ministers Conroy and Osborne: 
 
Re: Request for New Legislation to Protect and Restore Biological Diversity and Ecosystem Health 
 
On behalf of Islands Trust Council, I am writing to you to convey Trust Council’s request that the 
Province of British Columbia, in partnership with Indigenous leadership, develop and communicate in 
a timely way the process and timelines through which you plan to develop new legislation to protect 
and restore biological diversity and ecosystem health, in a manner consistent with the Declaration on 
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, and with the involvement of Islands Trust, local governments, 
civil society groups, Indigenous Knowledge Holders, scientists, and members of the public.  
 
As you are well aware, the recent Old Growth Strategic Review report commissioned by the Province 
identified several actions needed to foster a paradigm shift in the way forests are managed in British 
Columbia. One of the report’s key recommendations was to declare conservation of ecosystem health and 
biodiversity in British Columbia as an overarching priority and enact legislation that legally established this 
priority for all sectors. I was pleased to see that your ministerial mandate letters call on you to co-lead the 
implementation of the recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Review, in collaboration with 
Indigenous leaders, labour, industry, and environmental groups. 
 
In September 2021, the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs-in-Assembly (UBCIC) called on the Province to explicitly 
and publicly commit to the enactment of new, overarching legislation for the protection of biodiversity and 
ecosystem health, to be developed in cooperation with Indigenous Peoples, aligning with the UN Declaration 
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and upholding Title and Rights to strengthen biodiversity conservation 
and management.  
In the face of a climate emergency, the ecosystems that Indigenous Peoples and B.C. communities depend 
on for their spiritual, cultural, economic, and health needs are increasingly under threat. It is urgently 
importa

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