It’s a diverse group hoping to finally see Fraser River improvements that will benefit many.
Making a presentation to Delta council last week, members of the new South Fraser River Enhancement Society, previously known as the Ladner Sediment group, outlined a series of ongoing issues and how their registered non-profit organization has brought together various stakeholders.
Their primary objective is to restore and maintain the secondary channels of the Fraser River while ensuring a sustainable coexistence between the river’s ecosystem and people.
“We were the Ladner Sediment Group. We made the decision to become a society for really two reasons: One, we like the legitimacy, order and structure of the Societies Act of BC, but, secondly, we wanted to be more holistic how we deal with the river. We want to take on engagement and well-being of the river in every aspect, not just dredging, and we wanted to increase the enjoyment and use of the river by everybody, not just those in Ladner but all the citizens of Delta and other citizens of the Lower Mainland.,” explained Scott Kemp, vice-president.
Kemp added, “What we’re trying to do is create allies and so that we have a large number of people with the same interests and desires, so that we have a presence that can create positive changes in policies.”
The advocacy group’s focus is the lack of maintenance dredging of the secondary channels as well as the province’s ongoing moratorium on Crown land water leases for float homes.
The society is asking the City of Delta to establish a waterway maintenance committee with local stakeholders including First Nations.
Mayor George Harvie said the city has been advocating for dredging for many years, last week meeting with Nathan Cullen, BC Minister Water, Land and Resource Stewardship only to get “a pathetic response.”
Harvie noted, “They are not moving on any files and we need to almost re-brand ourselves, start over with a new process…I wanted to assure you that council and myself were very, very firm with the minister that this is totally unacceptable. In fact, they don’t even recognize float homes as a unit of housing really bothers myself and I’m sure other members of council.”
To have sustainable dredging of the secondary would require a funding commitment of about $2.5 million per year, funding that should be coming from the province and federal government, he said, adding that the difficulty getting permits is also a challenge.
Council asked staff to report back with recommendations.
