After 22 years of acrimonious process Glacier Resort Ltd. has been given the go-ahead by the provincial government to begin moving toward construction of a 6,250 bed multi-season ski resort in the Upper Jumbo Creek Valley, 55 km west of Invermere.

“This morning, I signed the Master Development Agreement (MDA) for the Jumbo Glacier Resort. This legal agreement contains all the terms and conditions under which the resort can be developed, as well as outlining events of default, insurance requirements, fees to be paid out and terms of renewal,” stated Steve Thomson, Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations during a noon (Mountain) press conference in Victoria.

“The approval of the Master Development Agreement allows the project to proceed,” he stated.

“I made this decision after reviewing all of the relevant, extensive documentation that is on this file – visiting the site and meeting with both First Nations and the proponent,” Thomson said.

Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Norm Macdonald, in whose bailiwick the Jumbo Valley is located, said the announcement is featherweight in nature and

nothing has changed.

“People in the Columbia Valley have been absolutely clear. They feel strongly that building a resort in this area does not make sense. It doesn’t make sense environmentally or economically, and putting the BC Liberal stamp of approval on it doesn’t change a thing,” he Macdonald stated, adding he finds the government decision to be disrespectful on a couple of counts.

“This is tremendously disrespectful to make this announcement in Victoria instead of coming and facing the people of this valley. If this was truly the right thing for this area, the government would be here in Invermere making this announcement,” he said.

Additionally the Ktunaxa Nation, “who consider the Jumbo Valley to be sacred have been very clear that they will not allow this development to proceed,” Macdonald said.

Indeed, the Ktunaxa Nation stated in a media release that it is “deeply disappointed in the news that the provincial government has approved Jumbo Glacier Resort in Qat’muk.

Qat’muk (GOT-MOOK) is home of the First Nations’ Grizzly Bear Spirit and is considered a profoundly sacred area for the Ktunaxa.

“We offered a great deal of evidence to the decision makers on the cultural value of this area to Ktunaxa,” said Kathryn Teneese, Ktunaxa Nation Chair. “We made it very clear that any development in this area would cause serious and irreversible harm to the Ktunaxa Nation, to our culture, to grizzly bears and to many other wildlife and environmental values.

“Ktunaxa will exercise our responsibility to protect the sacred, cultural and other values of Qat’muk in the most effective ways possible. Despite the decision by the provincial government, we will continue to develop and implement the Qat’muk management plan in accordance with Qat’muk Declaration and stewardship principles.”

Thomson said his decision involved much consideration of the Ktunaxa Nation’s position on the estimated $1 billion resort.

“Based on consultation with First Nations, the province will pursue establishment of a wildlife management area and also the proponent, as part of his responsibilities under the Environmental Assessment Certificate and Master Development Agreement will be required to develop a grizzly bear management strategy. Both of those will occur in consultation with the Ktunaxa First Nation and other stakeholders,” he said.

Thomson said he “recognizes and respects that there have been differing views on this project but after more than 20 years’ of this extensive review and consultation it was time to make a decision. The project has approval of Environmental Assessment; it has an Environmental Assessment Certificate, has the approval of a resort master plan and now the Master Development Agreement has been approved. The proponent has had to meet 195 commitments to get the Environmental Assessment Certificate and I am confident that the project will provide local job creation and economic growth for the region, while upholding responsible environmental stewardship.”

Joining Thomson for today’s announcement was Kootenay East MLA Bill Bennett, who hailed the announcement as a long time coming and stated he hopes the region can begin to move on from the divisiveness that run through its communities in the last couple of decades.

“It’s been a long road. I’ve been MLA for 11 years and have been aware of this project for a lot longer than that, and became very interested in the project, probably about the time we lost our BC Liberal MLA in that riding, and I started to look after adjoining ridings,” Bennett began. “In the East Kootenay, probably the whole Kootenay region, but particularly in the East Kootenay, all the way from Golden down through Radium, Invermere, Fairmont, Canal Flats, Wasa, down to Cranbrook and over into the Elk Valley – even down as far as Creston, our communities over the past 22 years have been divided over this controversy. It’s changed a lot over the years. There was a time when I think most people supported the project. That has changed in many different ways. The opposition has changed, the support has changed, the people have gotten older – the point being that it’s divided our communities and we wanted it over. We wanted a decision from government and I can’t thank the Premier enough for having the courage to have that decision made.”

Bennett said he respects the fact “there are very diverse views about this project. I respect the opposition, I respect the support but I can tell you unequivocally that the people in the East Kootenay will be happy that we finally have some certainty around this and we can start to heal and get back to being the really pleasant, wonderful communities that we want to have.”

Ktunaxa Nation Chair Teneese said her Nation’s opposition to the proposal, which was made abundantly clear to Victoria when the Qat-Muk Declaration was made, and reiterated on the one-year anniversary, remains.

“There are just too many risks with this proposed resort.Ultimately for Ktunaxa, the desire to protect this culturally significant area is the most critical. The Ktunaxa are not opposed to development, but we have been clear from the beginning of this 20 year process that Qat’muk is not an appropriate area for development to take place,” she stated.

The Ktunaxa Nation has never extinguished Aboriginal Title within their traditional territory, and government has a legal obligation to consult about and accommodate impacts upon Ktunaxa interests, the KNC’s media release pointed out.

“The Ktunaxa have lived in their territory since time immemorial and have a deep spiritual connection to the animal world and, in particular, to the grizzly bear. Qat’muk is a very special place where the Grizzly Bear Spirit was born, goes to heal itself, and returns to the spirit world. The Grizzly Bear Spirit is an important source of guidance, strength, protection and spirituality for the Ktunaxa. Qat’muk’s importance for the Grizzly Bear Spirit is inextricably interlinked with its importance for living grizzly bears now and in the future. The Ktunaxa have a stewardship obligation and duty to the Grizzly Bear Spirit and Qat’muk,” the release explained.

The Ktunaxa Nation wants to ensure that any development within their territory happens in a manner that is consistent with Ktunaxa values and principles, and has “continuously opposed the development of the proposed Jumbo Glacier resort due to its impacts on Ktunaxa rights and interests, and have outlined appropriate use of this area in the Qat’muk Declaration.”

Thomson said the Ktunaxa Nation’s spiritual concerns hold no legal water.

“We appreciated their (KNC) input and we did receive the declaration. I also met directly with the Ktunaxa in Cranbrook to review all of that. The key issue in determining, from a legal perspective, is whether the spiritual declaration represents from a case law perspective a strength of title or not. And the legal advice is that it does not and so the steps that we have taken to address the spiritual concern that they have with respect to the grizzly bear is to deal with the grizzly bear management plan and the establishment of a wildlife management area in consultation with the Ktunaxa to ensure that any of the residual impacts of the resort cover off the adjoining areas outside the controlled recreation area,” Thomson said.

“So we feel that we have addressed those concerns and mitigated them as part of the Master Development Agreement and the previous Environmental Assessment certificates,” he said, adding, “I suspect the Ktunaxa will continue to have concerns about this. We’ll continue to have our discussions and engagement with them. We’ve reached out to them and told them we will continue to keep the lines of communication open.”

Bennett provided the news conference with a brief run down on the history of the proposal and stated his views on why he believes it will be a success.

“If you are a ski resort and you have snow at Christmas, you’ve got quite an advantage. If you absolutely know you are going to have snow at Christmas time, that’s a pretty good competitive advantage,” he said. “The base for this resort is at about 5,500 feet (above sea level). That’s really high for the base – that means this resort wouldn’t have to make snow. That’s a big deal. The average temperatures there – pretty moderate compared to a little further north or a lot further north. Lots and lots and lots of snow – so you have a combination of a large number of hours of sunshine, which is important, you have got moderate temperatures, you’ve got a high base. The first lift will go up to about 10,000 feet at Glacier Dome (pictured above). You look down on a lake that’s called Lake of the Hanging Glacier – and there are only a few views in the world like this. For the life of me, I don’t understand why it’s not okay for a few people in the public to be able to go up there and see it. It’s only one mountain we’re proposing to do this on. It’s not all the mountains in British Columbia, so this is a very, very special site and if this gets built this will be a very, very special resort. It’ll be the only resort that’s based on glaciers – it is that high at the base. That has all those other factors and it will help our ski industry in the province, if it gets built,” Bennett said.

When asked why he said ‘if it gets built,” he replied, “Government’s job is not to go out and find the money and build a mine or the ski resort or whatever the project happens to be. It’s now up to the proponent. The proponent has been asking for 22 years for this opportunity. Today he gets it,” he concluded.

The KNC struggles to see the financial benefits of the resort proposal.

“The decision today is being touted as necessary for economic growth, yet it is clear from the 2011 Shaffer Report that most jobs will be filled by workers from outside the region and B.C., and that there is no evidence there will be any net economic benefits to British Columbians,” the KNC press release stated.

MLA Macdonald agrees, stating in a release, “Recently, it was discovered that the proponent, despite years of claiming otherwise, does not have a financial backer.

“So this project has no support and no money, but the government is determined to try and force it through,” he said.

The Columbia Valley Chamber of Commerce had a quote attached to the government press release on the Jumbo approval.

“The Columbia Valley Chamber of Commerce is pleased that a decision around Jumbo Glacier Resort has finally been made. We believe that over 20 years of indecision by three different governments was negatively impacting our communities. While we recognize that not all individuals will be pleased with the decision we do look forward to working with our members on the opportunities that this decision will present. It is our objective to help our members grow and develop their businesses in both an economically and environmentally sustainable manner,” stated chamber president Rose-Marie Regitnig.

One Columbia Valley Chamber member business that does not agree with Regitnig is RK Heli-Ski. Based out of Panorama Mountain Village, the long-time Columbia Valley business, opened by international heli-skiing icon Roger Madson, views Thomson’s message today as a potential death knell.

RK president Tom Brinkerhoff told e-KNOW he still wants to know if there is even any money available to be spent on such a project, but if there is, it’s lights out for his company, which has tenure in the Jumbo Valley.

“Who are the funders? We know it’s not Oberto (Oberti, president of Pheidias Project Management, who has led the push for this resort project since 1989),” Brinkerhoff said, adding the taxpayers of B.C. have a right to know who is going to develop Crown land.
“If they do move forward – our business is basically destroyed,” Brinkerhoff said.

Additionally, he questions government’s involvement in the Jumbo issue from the get-go, pointing at the Crown land tenure RK holds to conduct business in the Central Purcells.

“The way the government has handled our tenure gives no credibility to government tenures,” he said, asking how he would be able to sell the business or be able to recoup investments when his company’s poor weather, bread and butter runs in Jumbo are lost to the resort proposal.

“It means government tenures aren’t bankable,” he said.

Brinkerhoff concluded, “Even though we’re investors from Alberta, I’d never come back and invest in B.C. again, with the way we have been treated by government.”

Glacier Resort Ltd. was contacted by e-KNOW to offer comment but has not yet done so.

Jumbo Glacier Resort timeline, as per the provincial government:

Jumbo Glacier Resort has been the subject of one of the most extensive and thorough provincial reviews in the history of British Columbia:

March 1991 – Formal Proposal submitted to the Province.

March 1993 – Interim Agreement, granting sole proponent status, is signed by the Province and the proponent, following advertising to determine if there was any competing interest.

1992 – Nov. 1994 – Review under Commission on Resource and Environment (CORE) land use process. This resulted in a designation for the Jumbo area which supported commercial tourism and resort development use, subject to such development being capable of mitigating potential environmental impacts.

July 1995 – October 2004 – Environmental Assessment Act review – Environmental Assessment Certificate granted, with 195 conditions.

October 2005 – Judicial review of the Environmental Assessment Office process. The court upholds the Environmental Assessment Certificate.

2006 – Provincial review of the draft Resort Master Plan under the All Seasons Resort Policy.

2006 – Consultation continued under the All Seasons Resort Policy, with commitment to Ktunaxa Nation that a Master Development Agreement would not be concluded with the proponent until consultation was completed.

July 2007 – Resort Master Plan approved by the Province.

2008 – The proponent and the Shuswap Indian Band developed an Impact Management and Benefits Agreement, subject to project approval.

2009 – Environmental Assessment Certificate received a one-time, five-year extension.

June 2009 –The Province advised the Ktunaxa that the consultation process, as per the agreement between Ktunaxa and the Province, was complete. Ktunaxa advised the ministry of its spiritual interest in the Jumbo area. The Province agreed to consider the new information. Consultation continued.

October 2010 – The Ktunaxa signed a Strategic Engagement Agreement with the Province, and received a Treaty Land and Cash Offer.

November 15, 2010 – Ktunaxa presented their Qat’muk Declaration to the Province at the Parliament Buildings in Victoria.

Summer 2011 – Thomson visited the proposed site and met with the Shuswap, the Ktunaxa and the proponent.

March 2012 –Thomson approves the Master Development Agreement for Jumbo Glacier Resort under the Land Act and the Ministry of Lands, Parks and Housing Act.

View the Jumbo Glacier Resort Master Plan: https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/resort_development/resort_plans/approved/Jumbo.htm

Ian Cobb/e-KNOW

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