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KELOWNA ROCKETS captain Colton Sissons is expected to return to the lineup this weekend after missing 14 games with a concussion.
VISION IMPAIRED West Kelowna resident informs district council about the shortcomings he has navigating his way around the municipality.
THE WEARABLE ART GALA in support of the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art has become one of the local art scene’s most intriguing annual events.
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THURSDAY March 15, 2012 The Central Okanagan’s Best-Read Newspaper www.kelownacapnews.com
▼ WESTSIDE
Land swap offer rejected Wade Paterson CAPITAL NEWS
Two Westside governing bodies had very different reactions to the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations’ decision to sever a majority of the land at Rose Valley from a controversial land swap proposal. On Tuesday, the B.C. government announced that more than 85 per cent of the 698 acres of land proposed to be transferred to Westbank First Nation are not be in the public interest to be traded. Therefore, the parcel will remain Crown land, which includes lands around the Rose Valley watershed, lands in the Central Okanagan Regional District park area and lands in the area of gravel reserves. “As with all potential transfers, my ministry does a comprehensive review that considers the social, environmental and economic impacts,” said Steve Thomson, Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations. “My decision that these parcels are not suitSee Swap A20
WADE PATERSON/CAPITAL NEWS
MOVING FORWARD…Crews worked this week to put the finishing touches on repairs to the Westside Road overpass, which was opened to the public on Monday. Work on the Nancee Way underpass will begin this week. See story on A6.
▼ FEDERAL FISHERIES
Biologist claims fish act about to be gutted Judie Steeves STAFF REPORTER
Amendments to the federal Fisheries Act that would essentially remove protection of fish habitat from the legislation are secretly to be proposed for consideration within weeks, according to a former federal fisheries offi-
cer who has leaked the information. Otto Langer says the changes to Section 35(1) of the act would only call prevention of habitat damage that would adversely impact “fish of economic, cultural or ecological value.” Yet he points out that all fish and their habitat
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are part of a food chain, with wide-ranging impacts to birds and wildlife as well, when fish habitat is damaged. However, KelownaLake Country MP Ron Cannan, contacted in Ottawa on Wednesday by the Capital News, said he has heard many concerns about the current fisheries
policy. “It goes beyond what is needed to protect fish habitat,” he said. However, Cannan said the leaked document is nothing but pre-budget speculation, and it is the first he’s heard about the proposed changes. “I know fisheries policies are being reviewed,” he admitted.
He pointed to difficulties in planning to rebuild the Okanagan Safe Harbour in Lake Country because of onerous fish habitat requirements. Langer says he was involved in achieving protection for fish habitat in the act, as it was amended in 1975, and the changes proposed today would gut
it. “We’d be stepping back in time,” he said. The amended section would represent a significant loss, he noted. “It’s hard to believe this is happening in Canada,” he added. The altered language waters down the legisla-
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