It’s been a point of debate in the Kootenays for nearly 20 years. Today it looks like Jumbo Glacier Mountain Resort is actually going to happen.

From CBC News…

The B.C. government has approved development of the Jumbo Glacier Alpine Resort, a controversial year-round ski resort 55 kilometres west of Invermere, B.C.

The development has been on the books for two decades, having gone through all regulatory approvals, but no government would sign off on it until now.

The Liberals made the $1 billion annoucement in Victoria Tuesday and said the resort will be comparable in size to Silver Star near Vernon, B.C., or roughly one-tenth the size of Whistler.

Even before the official announcement was made, the NDP was highly critical of the decision. Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Norm Macdonald said the provincial approval changes nothing.

“People in the Columbia Valley have been absolutely clear. They feel strongly that building a resort in this area does not make sense,” said Macdonald in a statement released Tuesday morning.

“It doesn’t make sense environmentally or economically, and putting the B.C. Liberal stamp of approval on it doesn’t change a thing.”