Image Credit: BC Legislature

By Aaron Schulze

Environment Critic

Milobar named environment critic until BC Liberals leadership race concludes

Sep 18, 2021 | 1:28 PM

KAMLOOPS — The former Official Opposition critic for Environment in B.C. will hold the title once again, until the BC Liberals determine their new leader.

Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Peter Milobar was the environment critic between 2017 and 2020. He now serves as Official Opposition critic for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, and House Leader.

Milobar says he was temporarily appointed the environment critic as a smooth transition as former critic Ellis Ross, BC Liberals leadership candidate and Skeena MLA, is attempting to win the party’s leadership race.

“Our three inside-of-caucus leadership candidates agreed that they would no longer be critics for the last five months of our leadership race. I have every expectation that whoever our leader is will come in February and want to shape the critic roles based on how they feel everyone’s strengths are,” Milobar says. “We’re going to make sure we continue to press the government for answers on a wide range of portfolios. The environment is critical on a lot of people’s minds and the NDP has a lot to answer for as to what’s going on with CleanBC.”

After summer 2021 saw the Kamloops region experience a drier June than usual and one of B.C.’s largest wildfires on record, Milobar acknowledges the environment is changing and says there needs to be change in personal lives, within government, and within industry.

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: The mayor's misleading misogyny

15h ago

Film Location Map

Thompson-Nicola Film Commission unveils interactive film location map

16h ago

1000 Ways to Heal

1000 Ways to Heal: Ribbon Skirts

Dec 16, 2024

“BC Liberals are the ones that brought in the carbon tax. The emissions targets that the NDP are still trying to achieve were set out in 2007 by the BC Liberals in the first place, Milobar says. “CleanBC, however, is still missing 25 per cent on the emissions reduction profile since CleanBC was launched. It’s important to find out what exactly the government has planned for that final 25 per cent of emission reductions. That’s the key piece to whether or not we’ll meet any targets at all.”

An interim target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 16 per cent from 2007 levels by 2025 was set by the B.C. Government (B.C. Government).

The BC Liberals leadership vote is on Feb. 5, 2022.