ORCBC Roundtable Discussion – January 2025
It was great seeing so many of you (40+ members) at the Member Roundtable on Wednesday. For those that couldn’t make it, we were joined by John Hawkings and Jim Standen from the recreation and conservation division within the Ministry of Environment and Parks to hear some updates, notably the reorganization of BC Parks and Recreation Sites and Trails BC, which launched on Monday this week.
Here are a few of the changes that Hawkings and Standen mentioned:
- The new minister for the Ministry of Environment and Parks is Tamara Davidson. The Minister is a first-time MLA for North Coast – Haida Gwaii. She’s a member of the Haida Nation. Her mandate letter was published yesterday.
- The Conservation and Recreation Division is undertaking an organizational realignment to integrate the BC Parks and Recreation Sites and Trails BC programs more closely.
- Planning for this realignment has been underway since 2022, when Recreation Sites and Trails BC joined the ministry alongside BC Parks in the Conservation and Recreation Division.
- The changes took effect this past Monday, January 13.
- Provincial functions like budget management, safety, compliance & enforcement, planning, and other key operations will be combined to at the ministry HQ to support regional operations in parks, protected areas, recreation sites and trails.
- Regional and district operations for parks, protected areas, recreation sites and trails will be jointly managed within the Coast, North and South geographical areas and further organized into seven regions of the province. This structure aligns the two programs with the broader Natural Resource Sector ministries and improves coordination across various land management programs.
- John Hawkings’s temporary position as Executive Lead of Service Transformation and Recreation Strategy has been extended for at least another year to help support the transition and develop a recreation strategy for the Province.