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getting the "seat at the table" it deserves. "There is one
fundamental problem with tourism in the province,
because if you say that tourism is environmentally
based, then why doesn't it have any legislative capac-
ity to intervene in managing land resources?" he asks.
"This goes back years and years to progressive cuts
where they'd just do major clear-cuts and destroy the
visual immunity which tourism depends upon."
Of course, any discussion about conservation ver-
sus development in B.C. eventually turns to pipelines.
"Just the threat of [a spill] has a negative e‡ect on peo-
ple's sense of what this place means, what it's all about,
what it means to come and visit here, what it means to
invest in moving your business here," says Ben West,
Victoria-based executive director of Tanker Free BC,
an organization set up to oppose the Kinder Morgan
pipeline expansion.
George Heyman makes the same point when asked
about his government's role in land management
decisions that balance the needs of the resources and
tourism sectors. "We know tourism supports 133,000
jobs in B.C. and generates" $8 billion in economic
activity," the minister of environment and climate
change strate—y said in a statement. "That's one of
the reasons we have been steadfast in our defence of
our land, waters and coast in the face of increased
heavy oil moving through B.C."
Some B.C. development sites may be lined with
protesters, but do visitors and residents give much
thought to environmental stewardship?
Ian Powell is managing director of Victoria's
Inn at Laurel Point, the province's rst carbon-
neutral hotel. He notes that guests typically
don't pay much attention to the inn's award-
winning ventures into sustainability, such as
using ocean water to power its air conditioning.
"We get feedback from customers, and we
ask all sorts of questions, like: How was the
overall stay? Were there any particular members of
sta‡ that made you feel welcome? How important to
you are the green initiatives?" Powell explains. "And
[the last one] is always, always, always the lowest score
by a yardstick."
Royal Roads' White argues that tourism's large
workforce—the industry is the province's No. 3
employer, according to the Ministry of Labour—relies
on B.C.'s natural beauty. "It's a steady supply of com-
munity income, and that depends on the environ-
ment," he says, observing that a big chunk of tourism
revenue comes from smaller places. "Because if the
environment goes sideways and has been damaged,
then tourism gets damaged as well." —N.C.
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