The consultant’s final recommendations in Saanich’s People, Pets and Parks (PPP) study, will be considered by Saanich council on June 26. Our society has serious concerns about its recommendations for PKOLS-Mount Douglas Park related to dogs, the damage they have done to the park ecosystem and the lack of recommendations within the report that will address this. You are encouraged to read the attached letter, written by some knowledgeable environmental people and provide input to the process which is open to comment till mid-June.
Our society wants Saanich to provide proactive enforcement instead of the current reactive enforcement, which has led to off-trail people and especially dogs causing severe ecological damage, and situations illustrated in recent video Facebook posts by commercial dog walkers where they encourage their dogs to play, not realizing the resulting severe environmental damage. As a policy, we will continue to report issues like downed trees or garbage dumps but will not provide any vigilante service for Saanich.
PKOLS-Mount Douglas was granted to Saanich in trust by the province specifying that this pristine natural park would be preserved for future generations. As part of accepting the provincial trust, council at the time proclaimed the park charter. The current PPP recommendations will violate this trust, charter and the park.
According to the study, two-thirds of Saanich residents do not own dogs, the public online survey indicated 40 per cent would avoid Saanich parks due to off-leash dogs being present, and 51 per cent of respondents support having a park where no dogs are allowed, yet the study does not appear to address their needs,
The study terms of reference stated the final report will include details about pet and human health and also safety and sustainable environments. The study does not discuss the health and safety issues of dog urine and feces in parks. This can be a severe disease issue as detailed in HealthLink BC.
The study proposes a leash option 1.5 km trail within the park boundaries which ignores the trust, the charter and the concept of a pristine natural park. We, therefore, stand by our position, as stated in our park plan, that dogs must be excluded from PKOLS-Mount Douglas and request Saanich council uphold the commitments of prior councils and the park trust.
Darrell Wick, president
PKOLS-Mount Douglas Conservancy
