Possibly the largest petition ever presented to the BC Legislature was put forward today by Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Norm Macdonald asking that Premier Christy Clark say ‘no to development in the Jumbo Valley.’

“It was an honour to present this petition, organized by Wildsight and Patagonia, which contained 61,526 signatures in support of keeping Jumbo Wild,” said Macdonald. “I, along with my colleague from Nelson Creston, MLA Michelle Mungall, brought forward two large boxes of signatures to the provincial legislature, easily the largest petition I’ve seen during my time as MLA.”

The fight to keep Jumbo wild has been going on for 26 years. In 2010, a delegation of Ktunaxa citizens delivered the Qat’muk Declaration to the BC Legislature, affirming to the provincial government the spiritual, cultural and ecological value of the Jumbo valley to the Ktunaxa Nation.

“While developers of Jumbo Glacier Resort have struggled to find an investor, and while an earlier attempt to meet previous requirements to have at least a partial start on construction has failed, most believe that this Jumbo development will never happen. But the BC Liberals seem to be holding on to their dream,” continued Macdonald.

The BC Liberals created what is termed by many to be a ‘fake’ municipality. The Jumbo Glacier Mountain Resort Municipality is funded entirely by B.C. taxpayers, including paying for an appointed mayor and council, even though there are no residents, no buildings, and no tax-base, he said.

“It’s time for the BC Liberals to get rid of this fake municipality. They need to shut down the appointed council, and we need to end this farce once and for all,” Macdonald concluded.

Lead image: The petition was presented to the Ktunaxa Nation yesterday (March 13) in a brief ceremony in Cranbrook, before being flown to Victoria. Pictured from left, Patagonia’s Leah Evans, Jumbo Creek Conservation Society’s Bob Campsall and Wildsight executive director Robyn Duncan. Ian Cobb/e-KNOW photo

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