LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “I think it is great that the Partnership for Water Sustainability is the keeper of the Georgia Basin Initiative legacy and that what we started in the 1990s continues,” stated Mike Harcourt, the former Premier of British Columbia whose leadership made possible the Georgia Basin Initiative during a critical period
Mike Harcourt talked about the cross-border collaboration that was his bigger picture context for the Georgia Basin Initiative. In turn, it provides context for Metro Vancouver’s Livable Region Strategic Plan. This was deemed to be the region’s first regional growth strategy when Minister of Municipal Affairs Minister Darlene Marzari approved it in February 1996. Cross-border collaboration, the George Basin Initiative and Livable Region Strategic Plan are nested layers for integrating planning, engineering and environmental perspectives to create livable communities!