Turtle Columbia
The Provincial government has quietly announced that it intends to implement the BC Land Act Proposed Amendments, and is asking for public input before the end of March 2024. The changes would give First Nations power to co-govern what takes place on land and water they have claimed as their traditional territory. This would pretty much include all of British Columbia.
A sneak preview of what’s in store is provided by a pilot project that has been in existence for a few years now, with respect to the shíshálh (Sechelt) Nation. The shíshálh Nation / British Columbia Foundation Agreement was signed in 2018. A thorough reading of the document makes it clear that the BC government believes that the shíshálh have title rights over the territory they called swiya.
Prior to the co-governance Foundation Agreement, the shíshálh had already published their own Land Use Plan called lil xemit tems swiya nelh mes stutula which remains current today. In that document the swiya is broken into Forestry (pink), Cultural (orange), Conservation (green), and Stewardship (grey) designations:
The lands actually owned by the shíshálh at the time of this plan, are shown in brown.
Upon signing the Foundation Agreement, the First Nation was given monies and additional land. One of the parcels is a 616 hectare site called the Gravel Lands. This property is connected to shíshálh’s large open pit mining operation. Now that they own the whole mine, lease payments from international conglomerate Lehigh Hanson (now Heidelberg Materials) have no doubt increased significantly.
A photo of the Sechelt area shows the city, shíshálh lands, the mine and the conveyor loading port:
After signing the Foundation Agreement in 2018 and realizing full ownership of the mine lands, shíshálh Nation members voted in a 2019 referendum to support a 50-year extension of mining operations. This occurred despite their Land Use Plan survey which set out that 68% of the members canvassed were in opposition to mining operations in the swiya.
The Gravel Lands transfer wasn’t announced on the BC Government website until February 25, 2021. A week prior to that, a story in the Coast Reporter titled Lehigh clears 30 hectares at Sechelt mine included this picture:
Recent logging and clearing activity at the Lehigh mine site south of Dusty Road in Sechelt. Coast Reporter photo
The Gravel Lands, including the newly-cleared 30 hectares, were part of the grey Stewardship designation area on the shíshálh Land Use Plan map.
A subsequent March 11, 2021 article in the Coast Reporter titled Concerns over mining, Chapman trail access continue sets out:
On Feb. 25, the transfer of the lands from the province to shíshálh Nation was announced. Shortly after, Lehigh Hanson installed signs at trailheads prohibiting use of the access road and trail system.
The personal impact of this closure on the residents of Sechelt (and the Sunshine Coast) is the loss of a popular waterfall trail. The Coast Reporter goes on:
The issue was expected to be raised at a March 10 Sunshine Coast Trails Society meeting, according to chair Julie Davidson, who recently spoke with a negotiator from the B.C. government about what can be done to keep the popular Chapman Falls trail open.
“I think it’s an important trail and destination for a lot of local residents” said the chair of the 1,400-member society.
A statement from provincial negotiators to the trail society obtained by Coast Reporter said that “currently there is no plan in place for the public to continue to access it and it will be unavailable for access after the [land] transfer.”
However, there have been discussions about how public access could be reinstated, said the statement, “and those conversations may continue in the future.”
The negotiator said, “The Province cannot make any promises about this, as it is shíshálh’s decision because it will be their private land.
The trail remains closed today.
Also today, there is controversy about the shíshálh Dock Management Plan that was green-lighted by the Foundation Plan. Residents of Pender Harbour are rightfully concerned that they may lose their docks due to the imposition of indigenous regulations. The band claims the Plan is necessary because … huge damage has been done to cultural resources, fisheries, and the environment throughout shíshálh swiya by hundreds of docks.
Back to the gravel operations, will the shíshálh be decommissioning their conveyor port? Not likely, even though it is by far the largest, most environmentally disruptive, dock structure in the swiya. Though it could be argued that it has now become culturally representative.
Another January 12, 2022 Coast Reporter story demonstrates the potential for ecological damage from the ship dock: Gravel conveyor collapses at shiploading facility.
Cranes were brought in by barge to help with repairs to the gravel conveyor at Lehigh Materials shiploading facility after the conveyor apparently collapsed last week. Keili Bartlett – Coast Reporter
Beyond mining, the shíshálh own a group of 11 companies called Tsain-ko that are involved in forestry, hydro electricity, land development, etc. Co-control over land use in the swiya doesn’t just mean a veto to deny non-aboriginal projects, it also means carte blanche for whatever venture the band chooses to pursue. It’s hard to imagine that the BC government would stand in the way of indigenous enterprise.
As this all unfolds, the shíshálh continue to receive perpetual government support in the neighbourhood of $20 million annually for their population of about 625. For 2021 these grants and other business income amounted to over $33 million in total revenue. Comparatively in 2021, the District of Sechelt with a population close to 11,000 got about $3.5 million of their citizens’ income taxes back from government, and then through property taxation and fees it achieved almost $26 million in total revenue.
$33 million to service 625 – $26 million to service 11,000.
First Nations are no longer hard done by. Going forward, the race-based Land Act changes will create 2nd class citizenry for the other, less important, 95% of BC’s population. There is animosity now, and it will grow as democracy and quiet enjoyment of nature is replaced with oligarchy and culturally biased restrictions.