Tories' take on all this Strait talk: Give the issue a wide berth

"For most first nations, they are not going to go home at the end of the month saying 'My life is finally better, whoopee, I got the Salish Sea,' " said Mr. Strahl, who represents the Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon riding.

"They want to see a better approach on how to handle water-quality issues. They want a better approach on education. They want something more substantial on child and family services."

Despite his misgivings, Mr. Strahl, like the rest of the Harper government in Ottawa, appears keen to steer clear of this divisive issue. The federal Conservative government is emphatic it will play no role in the matter, leaving any decision to the British Columbia government.

The idea of renaming the 240-kilometre-long channel between Vancouver Island and the B.C. mainland rocketed to national attention this month when Premier Gordon Campbell asked British Columbians to consider the proposal being touted by a Chemainus, B.C., native representative.

The idea would be to give the Strait a name that reflects the Coast Salish native people who have long lived in the region. It was named the Strait of Georgia in honour of King George III by Captain George Vancouver after he arrived in the area in 1792.

Although he said he has not formed an opinion on the matter, Mr. Strahl questioned whether most natives would be satisfied by a name change.

"Symbolism: Sometimes it's important, but over all, for most people ... they say, 'That was a nice gesture but did it help my kids to go to school or college or did it help my bottom line? Did it reduce my taxes?' " Mr. Strahl said. " 'Or was it a bunch of guys drinking their own bathwater on an issue that wasn't seizing me and my local community?' "

Most B.C. Tory MPs are ducking the issue and refused to offer an opinion to a survey by The Globe and Mail this week - aside from Fleetwood-Port Kells MP Nina Grewal, whose office said she was opposed to renaming the Strait.

Among those who declined to give an opinion was Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn, who represents Saanich and the Gulf Islands and who oversees the federal secretariat for the Canadian Geographical Names Board of Canada.

Although responsibility for naming geographical features was transferred to the provinces in the 1960s, Ottawa would have at least a nominal role. Because a sliver of the United States - Point Roberts, Wash. - fronts the Strait, it would be more convenient for Canada to get U.S. consent for renaming the channel. That's so both countries would recognize the same name, reducing confusion for navigation.

Ottawa could theoretically play a role to aid, or block, efforts by the secretariat to negotiate with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.

But Mr. Lunn's office is adamant Ottawa will remain on the sidelines.

"The proposed renaming of the Strait is a matter that will need to be negotiated between B.C. and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names," spokeswoman Jasmine MacDonnell said.

"The Canadian board's secretariat will assist in facilitating those negotiations but ultimately the province and U.S. board need to approve [it]."

Privately, Conservatives say there's no benefit for them in being drawn into a debate that is so divisive. It's not surprising, given the Tories want to dodge any issue that might hurt them in British Columbia, where the party has lost ground since its days as the Canadian Alliance. In the 2000 election, the Alliance won 27 ridings but by the 2006 election, the successor Conservative Party had dropped to 17 seats.

A Globe survey of B.C. Liberal and NDP MPs found that many look favourably on the idea, but remain undecided. Two with stronger opinions were Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca Liberal MP Keith Martin, who voiced serious reservations about the proposal, and Vancouver Centre Liberal MP Hedy Fry who welcomed the idea.

"The bottom line is how we do help aboriginal communities to be respected, to become autonomous, to become self-sufficient and to become fully participating in Canadian society, and if this is one way of denoting this respect, why is it not worth looking at?" Ms. Fry said.