Another Possible Conflict of Interest in WFP land transfer?

Too Close to Call
by Jason Youmans, Monday Magazine
While provincial approving officer Bob Wylie ponders whether or not to grant Western Forest Products permission to steam ahead with subdivision construction on lands around Jordan River, Otter Point and Shirley, it seems his predecessor at the B.C. Ministry of Transportation office in Nanaimo also has an interest in the fate of the subject property.
Former provincial approving officer Rob Howat, who held the position from 1990 through to May 1, 2008, has lately been working as a land consultant on behalf of Vancouver-based property developer Ender Ilkay, a prospective buyer for some of the area freed up for development when 28,000 hectares of WFP land were deleted from B.C.’s Tree Farm License inventory in January 2007.

Removal of land from tree farm licences rapped by AG

Vancouver Sun
The B.C. government approved the removal of private lands from tree farm licenses on Vancouver Island “without sufficient regard for the public interest,” Auditor General John Doyle said Wednesday.
“I am not criticizing the policy of allowing licensees to remove their private lands from TFLs,” he said in a written release.
“But I expect that such decisions will be thoroughly informed and that stakeholders will be consulted. In this case, the Minister’s decision was based on an incomplete analysis.”

B.C. Auditor General says decision on tree farm licence premature

-Canadian Press
VICTORIA — B.C.’s auditor general says the provincial government’s decision to remove private land from several tree farm licences on Vancouver Island was done without sufficient regard for the public interest.
Auditor General John Doyle said Wednesday his review of the decision to remove the land from the three tree-farm licences was not well informed and consultation on the removal was inadequate.

Auditor general’s report slams sale of forestry lands

-CBC
B.C.’s Auditor General John Doyle has condemned former forests minister Rich Coleman for allowing a forestry company to remove land from three tree farm licences for residential development, citing the possibilities of conflict of interest and insider trading by government staff.
The report, released Wednesday in Victoria, said Coleman’s decision to remove private forest lands from three tree farm licences (TFLs) on southern Vancouver Island was made without sufficient regard for the public interest.

Auditor General Rules TFL Deletions Not In Public Interest

A report from the BC auditor general’s office has found that the Campbell government’s decision to remove 28,000 hectares of private land from Tree Farm Licence was made without sufficient regard for public interest.
The report stated that:
-the decision was not adequately informed — it was based „upon incomplete information that focused primarily on forest and range matters and the interests of the licensee, with too little consideration given to the potential impacts on other key stakeholders.
-consultation was not effective and communication with „ key stakeholders and the public about the decision was not transparent; and
-the impacts of previous land removal decisions were not „
monitored to help inform future decisions.
The auditor general’s report, which made no made no recommendations, is not binding, and the BC government has already declared that they have no intention to put the land back in TFL.

Auditor-general cuts his teeth on the contentious topic of private forest land

Vaughn Palmer, Vancouver Sun
VICTORIA – When John Doyle came from Australia to take on the job of B.C. auditor-general last fall, he lost no time showing a willingness to tackle controversial topics.
He had been here for just three weeks when he launched a review of a government decision to remove 28,000 hectares of private land from provincial tree farm licences.
The announcement came in the midst of a furious political debate over the fate of the land west of the provincial capital, fuelled by news that the private owner was selling some it as recreational property.