Abandoned vehicles, trailers, trash and furniture have built up in the region’s rural areas and Kootenay East MLA Tom Shypitka wants action.
Shypitka said he has seen excess garbage strewn about at Perry Creek, the Moyie Lake Transfer Station, Tie Lake, Burton Lake and other areas around the region.
“We’re seeing an unprecedented amount of garbage. Sometimes it’s squatters, sometimes it’s people living there, or bad actors misusing the land,” said Shypitka.
“We’re looking for some sort of accountability from government to make sure this isn’t an ongoing trend.”
Shypitka said the B.C. government has turned down provincial support for dealing with excess backcountry litter.
“When we talk about land access and keeping the backcountry safe and clean, what would the other priorities be? This seems to be a big issue for residents in Kootenay East, so it’s a high priority for me,” said Shypitka.
Shypitka wants to get as many voices to encourage clean-up efforts as he can.
“I want to reach out to as many areas and communities as possible, but it seems like there’s little time to meet all of the demand because there’s such an unprecedented amount of garbage. It’s a failure on the government’s part,” said Shypitka.
“It’s getting to the point where private citizens are taking it upon themselves to clean it up, including myself.”
Shypitka said municipal, regional, provincial and federal governments can also partner together to deal with excess rural litter.
“Let’s put our minds together and see if we can curtail these bad land use practices,” said Shypitka.
