Stem to Stern: Crown Land Allocation and the Victoria International Marina is the report of the Ombudsperson’s investigation into the decision of the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development to approve a lease of a Crown water lot to be used as part of the Victoria International Marina.

The investigation was into complaints from the public that the ministry did not adequately consider Crown land allocation principles in their decision making, approved the application when other approvals were still pending, and made the decision without adequate public consultation.

The investigation found a number of shortcomings with the ministry’s decision making processes, including the:

• adequacy and timeliness of information made available by the ministry,
• consultation process used by the ministry in arriving at its decision, and
• adequacy of reasons provided to support the ministry’s decision.

The Ombudsperson’s investigation resulted in eight recommendations for the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development relating to matters such as the quality and relevance of information available to the public, the ministry’s public consultation process and the transparency of its decision making.

All eight recommendations have been accepted by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. The Office of the Ombudsperson will monitor progress and report publicly.

To view the news release, please click here.