Paradise Won: The Struggle to Create Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve by Elizabeth May

Author:Elizabeth May
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: RMB | Rocky Mountain Books
Published: 2020-10-01T16:17:15+00:00

The ministerial briefing session was a little like the shootout at the OK Corral. Down one side of the table sat an array of senior officials. The minister, as always, sat at the head of the table, and to his right were members of his personal staff. I was seated in my now-usual place – first in from the chief of staff. The meeting was tense from the start.

Jim Collinson, who knew I would not accept the WAC boundaries, did his level best to convince McMillan that they were as good as we were going to get from the B.C. government. He argued that there was nothing particularly special or significant about Windy Bay from a Parks point of view. “Every single species found there, every natural feature, can be found in other parts of the area within the WAC boundaries.” He suggested that the Haida would likely log Lyell Island if they ever got control. “The environmentalists are just being used by the Haida.” This argument would be used two ways over the next few months. Sometimes it was argued that the environmentalists were the dupes of those tricky Indians. Other times, it was put that the environmentalists were manipulating the gullible Haida.

I countered with our memo, supported by a number of soon-to-be chastised bureaucrats from the Policy branch, and described what I thought would be the result of a decision to create a park on the WAC boundaries. “The confrontation will get worse,” I began.

“The Haida have already built a longhouse at Windy Bay and they’re prepared for a long siege. And this time, every Haida is prepared to get arrested. And when there are no more Haida to face arrest, David Suzuki and his wife and his father have said they’ll get arrested. And, of course, Bill Reid, and Maurice Strong, and dozens of environmentalists – probably entertainers like Bruce Cockburn. It would go on for weeks, and the federal government would be seen to be on the wrong side of the issue. We will have given away the one bargaining lever we had, creating a national park. Everyone will accuse us of betrayal.”

Back and forth we went. I could see hostility flash in the eyes of the deputy minister and the assistant deputy minister for Parks. I had learned enough of the ways of political staff and bureaucrats to know that you were never supposed to disagree in front of the minister, as the minister was never to be put in the position of making an actual choice. The “choice” was narrowed to a range of three options, and everyone, including the minister, knew he was supposed to pick the middle one. But as much as I regretted the blows to egos and careers that might take place, I knew I had no choice. If the minister was not prepared to take a chance, to try saying just once to B.C., “It’s Lyell Island or nothing,” then we would never know what might have been possible.

I moderated my argument.

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