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Province promises to eliminate backlog of land tenure applications

The B.C. government is promising that it will eliminate the backlog of Crown land tenure applications by next March.

The B.C. government is promising that it will eliminate the backlog of Crown land tenure applications by next March.

"This strategy will meet our commitment to promote opportunities in tourism, mining, farming, ranging, oil and gas production and other sectors of our economy," Minister of Sustainable Resource Management Stan Hagen said in a press release.

According to the release, B.C. Assets and Lands Corp. – the provincial agency in charge of this task – has already reduced the backlog by 45 per cent.

BCAL plans to eliminate another 30 per cent by Dec. 31 through a streamlined tenure application and approval process.

"I am working with BCAL staff to ensure we... get caught up in processing Crown land applications," said Hagen.

The minister also said the streamlined process will help "promote sustainable economic growth" and reduce red tape that has "hindered our prosperity in the past."

Three Sea-to-Sky Corridor businesses – TLH Heli-Skiing, Powder Mountain Snowcats and Cayoosh Snowmobile Adventures – are currently seeking approval of tenure applications.

Thirty-one short-term tenures were offered to local commercial recreation operators last spring.

B.C.'s 22,000 Crown land tenures generate $202 million for the province and creates about 28,000 jobs.