qathet Regional District (qRD) directors will reserve endorsing a proposed joint statement from Tla’amin Nation, the regional district and City of Powell River, regarding the Catalyst Paper Tis’kwat mill site.
At the July 26 regional board meeting, directors reviewed correspondence from Tla’amin regarding consideration of potential purchasers of the mill site. The two-page proposed joint statement, presented in draft form, states that the three governments are unified in their opposition to the sale of the property to any party that does not have the support of Tla’amin, given the nation’s constitutionally protected treaty rights and unresolved claim at Tis’kwat.
Electoral Area C director and regional board chair Clay Brander said Tla’amin is currently planning for the potential reclamation of the former village site, but, if the nation is unsuccessful, the wish is that it be taken over by a group who will manage it responsibly, especially where the environment is concerned.
“We need to encourage the success of our neighbours and have faith, rather than suspicion, that this is the only way to move forward,” said Brander. “I see this joint statement having the potential to be a crucial step in a long-lasting and very beneficial relationship with the other parties involved, but we won’t know that unless we support it. A show of solidarity and partnership could go a long way.”
Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne said he wondered what Tla’amin’s plan is, because he didn’t see it in the correspondence.
“That’s some more information that I would like,” added Gisborne. “I would also like to know if the intent of the plan is for treaty settlement lands, or to become owners of the land and continue to have it within the city boundaries. I’d be happy to postpone this until August and have it fully discussed at the committee of the whole level.”
Brander said there was a time frame because Tla’amin was meeting with BC premier David Eby on July 27.
Brander said as far as the property being taken off the tax rolls, the city would have to consent, so the city would have to be a part of the discussion.
City director George Doubt said he received the same letter of request from Tla’amin as a city councillor. He said the city has not signed onto the joint statement, but has requested that the nation meet with the city council in camera to explain the plan and its benefits to the nation and the city.
Doubt said from the regional district’s point of view, the Catalyst Paper Tis’kwat property pays at least $250,000 to the general revenue of qRD.
“I support reconciliation and the idea of economic reconciliation is one that I think will get a huge amount of discussion in the next few years, because everyone who thinks about that has a different idea about what it is,” said Doubt. “A reasonable way to go forward would be to ask Tla’amin Nation for a detailed briefing for the regional district directors on what their plan actually is so we know what it is we are getting into.”
Doubt said the qRD board had previously supported a grant application to the federal government to prepare for the acquisition of the Tis’kwat property. He said this request is a little more, and without knowing the details, it would not be advisable to enter into an agreement.
City director Cindy Elliott said she spent part of her career working on treaty negotiations and providing input into specific claims. She said a specific claim is not the same as a treaty negotiation, but is one where a First Nation would have a court process or a claim where the government wrongfully took land.
These cases, she added, are generally resolved with compensation, and that money is restricted to purchasing land on a willing seller basis to make up for property lost. She said Tla’amin’s treaty did not settle that claim and they are still working on Tis’kwat.
“It doesn’t mean they get to have Tis’kwat back but it could mean they could have money to buy it,” said Elliott. “We don’t know where that process is at and we don’t know what Tla’amin’s plans or offers have been.
“While I am in favour of a joint statement in principle, one that precludes all buyers except for Tla’amin is not what I’d be in favour of. I’d be in favour of a joint statement that talks about our shared interests and where they align.”
Elliott said she is in favour of Tla’amin sharing plans with the qRD board.
Doubt made a motion to postpone a decision on recommendation that qRD participate in the joint statement to the province in relation to the Tis’kwat mill until after the regional district has heard from a Tla’amin delegation on the details of their plan.
The motion to postpone carried.
Dillon Johnson, Tla’amin executive councillor, said that while Tla’amin had a meeting with Eby about Tis’kwat on July 27, where the joint statement could have been presented, postponement of endorsing the joint statement should not significantly delay anything.
“We respect that [regional district] directors will have some questions about this,” said Johnson. “I totally respect that. They have their processes and need to be comfortable with it.
“We have a long history of working together and this is consistent with that spirit of cooperation and collaboration.”
Johnson said Tis’kwat is Tla’amin’s former settlement site and the nation sees a bright economic future at that location, which will generate a good economy for everyone in the region.
“We’ve never had a big role to play at Tis’kwat since it was taken away and turned into Lot 450,” said Johnson. “We want to see us leading, or at the very least, participating in a very meaningful way as to what happens next.”
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