The implications, for future economic activities on aboriginal lands, are enormous. The Supreme Court Recognizes Tsilhqot’in First Nation’s Title over 1,700 square kilometres of British Columbia.
By Roy L Hales
When they were granted a license last November, the regulations stated Trans Mountain “must contribute to the scientific knowledge of the protected area(s).” They were conducting a feasibility study that was the preliminary step to building a pipeline. Now the legality of pipeline research in BC’s parks is being questioned .
Four months passed before the BC Government passed legislation, Bill 4: The Park Amendment Act, that made industrial research in public parks legal. It was rushed through the legislature with no public consultation.
By Roy L Hales
A symbolic fight for British Columbia’s future is underway. A little town, with less than 10,000 people, is being given the choice denied to the rest of us. A plebiscite in which there will be some, possibly many, Kitimat Residents saying No! to a pipeline.
The Government of British Columbia and the Tla’amin Nation have signed the final agreement that precedes the signing of a treaty.
The Tla’amin occupied the northern part of the Sunshine Coast (see map above), practising their traditional lifestyle and governed by their own laws, for 2,000 years. There are presently 1,026 band members, most of which live on the reserve north of Powell River.
By Roy L Hales
The First Nations that signed treaty #8, in 1914, were promised the right to continue with their traditional way of life “for as long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the rivers flow.” The antiquity of their presence site is evidenced by prehistoric chert arrowheads, burials and local tradition. It has continued into modern times as a summer gathering place. When BC Hydro dams the Peace River, on site C, they will be taking away lands on which these people have hunted, fished and gathered their traditional medicine plants. Of Course a century ago no one knew that this could become one of the most promising liquid natural gas fields in the world.
The land that is about to disappear is also home to about 20 threatened species. It is a migration route for fish such as the bull trout and arctic grayling, as well as home to the mountain whitefish. The islands are calving grounds for moose, mule deer & elk, habitat for red & blue listed neo-tropical birds.
