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Bigfoot joins BCGEU's 'Save BC Parks' campaign
VANCOUVER, Jun 28, 2012, 2012 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) --
The B.C. Government and Service
Employees' Union has enlisted the help of Bigfoot to kick off their
summer campaign to increase funding to B.C.'s parks system.
Bigfoot and Ranger Dave star as characters in an online video - part of
an internet and print-based campaign that highlights the impact of B.C.
parks cuts and urges people to ask the B.C. government to restore parks
funding.
The campaign focuses on B.C. park rangers as an endangered species, with
only 10 full-time rangers left to patrol 1000 parks and protected
areas, covering more than 32 million acres province-wide.
"BC's park ranger corps has been cut by more than 60 per cent since
2001," says BCGEU president Darryl Walker. "We have the third largest
park system in North America, and we can't afford to send the few
rangers we have left out to patrol our parks."
Walker pointed to freedom of information documents which confirm that
more than 40 park vehicles were sidelined and gasoline and travel
budgets severely cut back, making it difficult for park rangers to
patrol B.C. parks. The documents also revealed that greyhound buses,
scooters and taxis were being considered as alternative transportation
for rangers and supervisors.
The union also claims that the government's austerity measures hurt
rural communities, which depend on tourism revenue from B.C. parks -
citing ta B.C. government study, Economic Benefits of British Columbia's Provincial Parks, which shows a huge economic return from government investment in
B.C.'s parks system.
"The government's own study shows that visitors spend $10 in local
economies for every dollar spent by the government on B.C.'s park
system," says Byron Goerz, chair of the BCGEU component that represents
park rangers. "We have to stop looking at parks as a cost and recognize
they are huge revenue generators for local communities."
The campaign web site (www.saveBCparks.ca) contains a variety of information resources, and includes an online
form to e-mail the Premier, Environment Minister and Opposition critic
to ask the government to restore B.C. parks funding to 2000 levels.
Image with caption: "Bigfoot and Ranger Dave are central characters in an online video that promotes the BCGEU's 'Save BC Parks' campaign, which is aimed at increasing government funding for a parks system that has been heavily impacted by a decade of funding cuts. (www.saveBCparks.ca) (CNW Group/B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120628_C4807_PHOTO_EN_15809.jpg
To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2012/28/c4807.html
SOURCE: B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union
Contact Chris Bradshaw at 604-291-9611 or 604-369-8411.
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