By Tiffany Goodwein

Protest planned outside Tolko head office

Aug 16, 2019 | 12:31 PM

Members of the Vernon chapter of the international climate action group Earth Strike will be staging a protest at Tolko’s head office on Monday.

The protest is against Tolko Industries’ plans to log an area 500 meters from Vernon’s water supply.

The organization claims that logging near the Duteau Creek watershed could pose disastrous consequences for the local drinking water.

“We cannot stand by idly and let a logging corporation threaten the very water we drink. We are committed to fighting for forests and our water,” Kieran Grandbois co-founder of Earth Strike Vernon said in a press release.

In a report issued by the Regional District of the North Okanagan, Zee Marcolin, General Manager of Utilities stated that the impacts could range from minimal to extreme.

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“Potential impacts from logging the proposed block range from ‘minimal impacts’ to potentially ‘catastrophic’ if a debris flow or landslides were to be triggered. A debris flow or landslide could fill the reservoir, causing a loss of the Duteau Creek water source,” said Marcolin in her report.

In a previous interview with Vernon Matters, Akbal Mund, Chair of the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee also expressed a few concerns.

“GVAC doesn’t have a problem with Tolko doing some logging within the watershed. The issue is right now we don’t have any control of where that logging can occur.”

The Greater Vernon Advisory Committee agreed to write a letter to the Ministry of Forests and Natural Resources demanding more input at their last board meeting.

“So the justification for the letter is to send it to the province and say, ‘Look, when you issue permits for companies to log within watersheds, you should talk to the local governance who run the area before you issue these permits,’” Mund said.

The Earth Stroke protest is planned for Monday Aug. 19 from noon to 3 p.m. at Tolko’s head office situated at 3000 28th Street.

by Tiffany Goodwein

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