Hello,
As a British Columbia voter, I’m contacting candidates during this provincial election to ask one final question about public access:
What is your long-term plan for public access to British Columbia’s backcountry?
Across the province, resource roads and other access routes connect people to places used for camping, hunting, fishing, hiking, snowmobiling, four-wheel driving and other lawful recreation.
Rady Creek has helped bring attention to this issue, but the broader question is what British Columbia’s long-term approach should be when resource roads reach the end of their industrial life but still have significant recreational or public-access value.
I would like to know:
- What long-term policy do you support for identifying and protecting high-value recreational access routes?
- Should recreational and public-access value be formally considered before roads are permanently deactivated or access is lost?
- Where continued access is appropriate, should government consider options such as managed access, stabilization, rerouting, trail designation or recreation-corridor status?
- How should long-term responsibilities for maintenance, safety, liability, environmental protection, Indigenous rights and title, and funding be addressed?
- What role should local communities, recreation organizations and other affected users have in shaping these long-term decisions?
I’m not asking for a particular answer. I want to understand where candidates stand before I vote.
British Columbians should know what each party’s long-term plan is for public access to the backcountry.
If pressing Send does nothing, your browser may not have an email app attached — common on phones with webmail only. Use Copy the text and Copy the addresses, then paste both into Gmail, Outlook or whatever you use.
Everyone is blind-copied. Candidates go in Bcc so no recipient sees anyone else's address, and so your letter reads as one person writing, not a list.
Change the wording if you want to. A letter in your own words carries more weight than a hundred identical ones. The part worth keeping is the question itself.
We are not telling anyone how to answer. We are asking you to find out where they stand.
Who this goes to
| Party | Addresses | How they are addressed |
|---|---|---|
| BC NDP | 50 | Blind-copied |
| BC Conservatives | 34 | Blind-copied |
| BC Greens | 7 | Blind-copied |
| Centre BC | 1 | contact@centrebc.ca |
| OneBC | 1 | info@1bc.ca |
| Backcountry Coalition | 1 | Copied so we can count how many of these went out and follow what comes back. We never publish anyone's letter or address. |
All five questions
Five questions, one for each. Each opens in your own mail app.
- BC provincial election Where do you stand on public access to public lands? The opening question. Asks every candidate where they stand on reasonable public access to public lands.
- BC provincial election What happens to access when forestry leaves? What should happen to a resource road that industry no longer needs but the public still uses.
- BC provincial election What should be tried before access is lost? Which alternatives should be considered before a high-value access route is permanently removed.
- BC provincial election What will you do for access in the community you represent? How a candidate will make sure recreational access is weighed before local routes are closed.
- BC provincial election · you are here What is your long-term plan for backcountry access? The closing question. Asks for a province-wide, long-term plan for public access.