DON’T LET THE TRANSCANADA TRAIL SLIP AWAY - IT’S TIME FOR BC TO STEP UP

The BC sections of the Trans Canada Trail once stood as a promise, a legacy for future generations when the Canadian Pacific Railway corridor was handed over by the Trans Canada Trail Foundation and given to the Province of British Columbia in 2004. For decades, this corridor has tied together communities like Christina Lake and Castlegar, Tulameen and Princeton, Rock Creek, and Kelowna. The route has drawn visitors from across the country as part of the Great Trail, the world’s longest recreational trail.

Today, in my riding of Boundary-Similkameen, this promise is being broken in plain sight.

In 2020, Recreation Sites and Trails BC quietly walked away from a 67-kilometre section of the Columbia Western Rail Trail (CWRT) between Castlegar and Christina Lake. They cited excuses such as, difficult terrain, unmanageable numbers of visitors, and high maintenance costs. Since then, there has been no plan, no budget, and no responsible stewardship.

Instead of proper maintenance, the Province will post hazard signs telling people to keep out, warning visitors of unsafe trestles, rockfalls, and collapsing tunnels. Staff even suggest parts of the trail may be closed altogether. This trail isn’t just for hikers, it’s a main route that connects people and communities, provides access to private land, and keeps local history alive.

The CWRT is considered part of the backbone of the Trans Canada Trail. If this link breaks, there is no simple detour and no quick fix. For small rural communities working hard to diversify their economies and support working families, this is a setback we can’t afford.

Look at Princeton to Tulameen: The section of the Kettle Valley Rail Trail washed out by the 2021 floods. Four years later, there is still no serious effort to rebuild it. The Province just quietly turned its back and hoped folks wouldn’t notice.

Meanwhile, this same government brags about “world-class” outdoor recreation in glossy brochures and tourism ads — telling rural towns to build their futures around trails they won’t lift a finger to look after. This is not leadership. It is passing the buck.

This is about more than local pride. The Trans Canada Trail is the world’s longest recreational trail, connecting 15,000 communities across Canada. It’s built on a partnership between local people, a national vision, and provincial governments doing their part. But in BC, that partnership is breaking down. When the Province neglects these rail trails, it cuts rural communities off from that connection, leaving volunteers fighting uphill battles alone.

I’ve spent years in trail advocacy and rural recreation. I’ve watched government after government make promises but never back them up. Local clubs and volunteers are left to scrape together funding, navigate endless bureaucracy and red tape, consult, plan, build, maintain, and monitor — all for trails the Province owns but refuses to maintain.

If the provincial government wants the benefits, they need to shoulder responsibility.

When the Othello Tunnels washed out in 2021, the Province acted fast. Engineers were dispatched, funding was secured, and a plan made to fix it. I ask myself: Why do these other historic rail trails deserve any less?

We can’t keep losing these trails, piece by piece, signed away with “Use at Your Own Risk” nailed to a fence post. Once they’re gone, they’re gone — and the communities left behind are the ones paying the price.

It’s time for some common sense. The Province must take responsible ownership of BC’s rail trails and make a clear call on how these trails will be used, funded, and maintained for the people and communities who depend on them.

Small towns can’t shoulder this alone — and they shouldn’t have to. If BC wants to keep calling itself a world-class outdoor recreation destination, then let’s see government match its slogans with real commitment on the ground.

BC’s rail trails aren’t just paths through the woods — they’re a promise that rural communities have kept alive for decades. It’s time the Province did its part to keep that promise too.

Donegal Wilson is the MLA for Boundary-Similkameen and a long-time advocate for enhancing outdoor recreation opportunities in BC.