Forking out money to the federal government is increasingly frustrating the Allan Brooks Nature Centre. The non-profit organization forks out $9,500 a year to use the 10-acre federally owned site in the Commonage. “It’s really a tight squeeze for us,” said director Walt Duncan of the impact on the centre’s budget. “It means we have to raise those funds to keep the doors open. It doesn’t cover any of our day-to-day expenses.” The centre opened in 2000 and paying the lease has preoccupied every board of directors since then. Most of the activity is directed towards having the lease lowered to zero.
Duncan is not impressed with
MP Colin Mayes’ handling of the matter. “He’s been less than enthusiastic,” said Duncan, adding that Mayes has not taken up invitations to visit the centre.Mike Carlson, a board director, insists the lease should be eliminated because of the centre’s role in preserving and enhancing the environment. “They want citizens to take on projects. We are doing that but we are hamstrung by the lease,” he said. As an example of its activities, the centre points to a recently constructed pond that is home to spadefoot toad. “We are protecting a (federally listed) vulnerable species on federal land. What are they doing for us?” said Duncan. Mayes defends his government, saying that any federal land must be leased out at fair market value. “My office has done a lot of work on this file to try and help them but it didn’t materialize,” he said. Mayes believes the centre should try to target funding for specific programs instead. “Maybe they need to do that rather than focusing on dollars to run the facility,” he said. As for not visiting the centre, Mayes says that is the result of a busy schedule and not because he doesn’t consider the centre important. “They are definitely on the radar screen for me,” he said.--------------------------------
MP’s actions raise concern
Sep 05 2007 EDITORIAL
With MP Colin Mayes’ attitude, the Allan Brooks Nature Centre holds no hope of its lease issue ever being addressed. Instead of standing up for the interests of the non-profit organization and the community he is supposed to serve, Mayes appears to be only interested in toeing the party line when he says policy requires federal land to be leased out at fair market value. Has Mayes ever considered that the policy is misguided and wrong? It is also apparent that Mayes doesn’t understand the financial plight of non-profit groups when he suggests the Allan Brooks Nature Centre should target funding for specific programs instead of for day-to-day operations.
That’s all well and good, except that without money to pay staff and the utility bills, there is no point offering programs to the public because the doors will be closed. The centre provides a worthwhile service to the community, partly as a tourist attraction but primarily by increasing public awareness about our environment and the fragile ecosystem of the North Okanagan. This vital role is certainly demonstrated by the centre’s pond, which is now home to spadefoot toad. But the very same government that considers the toad a vulnerable species is taxing the centre to a level that makes ongoing activities difficult. If the federal government was truly serious about the environment, it would recognize the importance of groups like the Allan Brooks Nature Centre and provide them financial assistance. But until our local representative in Ottawa considers the situation important, that is unlikely to happen.
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