When provincial promises collapse, public infrastructure follows

Written By Warren Mirko
Published

Abandonment of public infrastructure seems to be the new normal in B.C., as the gap between what citizens are promised and the outcomes governments deliver, widens.

The B.C. government promises to maintain community assets across the province, even as trails and bridges deteriorate. Unsafe conditions and closures from neglect can no longer be chalked up to miscommunication or incompetence. In the absence of clear answers from the province, it seems there is a purposeful intent to divest in rural British Columbia. 

Take the Columbia and Western Rail Trail, which stretches from Midway to Castlegar.

In 2020, the province disestablished a 67-kilometre section the trail, while assuring the public it would remain part of the Great Trail (formerly known as the Trans Canada Trail). The trail was to remain open year-round for recreational purposes to “help make the route safer for everyone who uses it.”

Fast forward to June 2025, when a joint statement from B.C. government staff reversed course. Government would no longer fund maintenance of the trail. “The rail grade is currently being managed to a wilderness status,” informed staff from the Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship.

In fact, despite earlier promises from the province, Freedom of Information documents reveal there never was a recreation plan. Instead, ministry staff openly discussed offloading responsibility onto logging companies to shoulder maintenance through road permits, leaving entire sections of the corridor with no designated steward and no plan for safety or infrastructure maintenance. 

So much for B.C.’s upkeep of our country’s most iconic cross-country trail.

Official response is deafening

Is this how provincial commitments are now honoured in British Columbia?

Abandonment is redefined as ‘wilderness status’ and year-round recreational uses include dodging rockfall and crossing unstable trestles. And apparently what they consider ‘safer for everyone’ now means no inspections, no repairs, and no funding.

If this is how the province treats a nationally recognized trail, what does it mean for every other piece of rural infrastructure in British Columbia?

The response to repeated requests has been a single letter from Land, Water and Resource Stewardship Minister, Randene Neill, which simply shifted responsibility to the Ministry of Forests, despite both ministries signing the 2025 letter acknowledging the trail’s neglected condition.

This is bureaucratic incompetence at its worst.

How many people and groups does it take to warrant a serious response from the province? 

A coalition of local governments, businesses, community groups, and recreational associations has formed, urging government to ensure access, safety, and transparency. They’ve written articles in media outlets, done radio interviews, and received letters of support from a broad range of interest groups, economic development agencies, tourism promotion organizations, along with local and regional government officials. And more than 3,300 individuals have signed an ongoing petition to save the trail. 

The government’s response to this outpouring has been silence – a refusal to even acknowledge the petition or its organizers. 

Conflicting government messaging

Meanwhile the public must wade through a clear disconnect between government’s words and actions. 

Tourism ministries on both provincial and federal levels encourage rural communities to leverage their natural assets for investment attraction and to drive local tourism. In David Eby’s StrongerBC Program, “developing world-class tourism experiences” is a stated priority, even as other ministries actively decommission these same assets.

Do B.C. government officials expect the public to navigate 67 kilometres of deteriorating trestles and rockfall without basic safety maintenance?

By contrast, greenways in neighbouring communities in suburban or rural settings are prioritized for funding, disproportionally penalizing rural areas that rely on multi-use trails in communities significant distances apart.

Even from an economic perspective, this lopsided funding makes little sense. Trails accessible to powersport vehicles have a $10.3 billion total economic impact in Canada and $4.2 billion impact in total tourism spending.

Yet, government appears committed to offloading maintenance responsibility for trails and forest service roads onto local groups. But volunteers cannot replace provincial stewardship; they don’t have the funding, insurance, or expertise to manage industrial-scale infrastructure.

Trail is a community lifeline

Trails like the Columbia and Western Rail Trail are more than recreational infrastructure, but are community lifelines.

Due to restrictions under the Federal Fisheries Act and BC Hydro regulations, there is no legal boat access to certain lakeside properties. In practical terms, the trail provides the only viable route for residents to access these lands safely; a predicament shared by many residents throughout the province.

A matter of necessity, access is not optional. It’s essential for both legal and practical reasons. Without this land access, individuals could be stranded during floods, wildfires, or other emergencies. Ignoring that reality is reckless and could put lives at risk.

But this appeal goes beyond one trail. It calls into question the basic responsibility of government to uphold its word, protect public safety, and support the infrastructure that binds communities together.

Rural residents should not have to carry the burden of public infrastructure alone. Allowing provincial assets to crumble, ignoring letters and petitions of citizens, and shifting blame between ministries is reprehensible.

Because a government that cannot maintain its own assets is bankrupt in the only currency that matters: public trust.