Re: Another level of green oversight (July 11)
I am glad to see the professional reliance model brought to public attention.
I am a retired provincial employee and have witnessed the continuing challenges to both professionals and government regulators under the professional reliance model.
The shortcomings in my experience occur repeatedly and are not isolated incidents.
The conflict between following environmental regulations and the short-term financial interests of corporations and other issues have been documented in a number of past reports prepared both within and outside the provincial government.
The newly released Professional Reliance Review by Mark Haddock provides balanced and constructive recommendations to improve the effectiveness of environmental
protection and restore public confidence.
It saddens me to see the recommendation for much-needed oversight dismissed in the article as
government bureaucracy.
Columnist Tom Fletcher also opines that the professional reliance system has “generally served the province well.” That may be true from the perspective of certain interests, but many professionals I know would not share that opinion.
K.T. Shum
Sooke