The area between Roberts Creek and Pender Harbour could be ground zero for the political fallout from last summer’s Supreme Court of Canada decision recognizing Aboriginal title to Crown lands in Chilcotin country.
That’s because it lies within Sechelt Nation traditional territory, and according to Chief Calvin Craigan, Sechelt is positioned to be the first Indian band in B.C. to ink a new deal with the province in the wake of the high court’s landmark ruling.
“The province right now is committed to Sechelt, as they are citing three nations that they’re going to deal with, and we’re number one,” Craigan said during a 40-minute interview on Wednesday.
By the end of this month, he predicted, “we’ll have an agreement in principle on all the ingredients that will involve reconciliation, co-management, decision-making, sharing. I can tell you the province is very, very committed to dealing with Sechelt ASAP. They’ve now formed a high-level team to deal with Sechelt.
“So we want to be out there with the public and bring the public along with us [to show] that we don’t have any hidden agendas. We don’t want to inhibit, we don’t want to place the community into a predicament where they feel threatened. We want them to be part of how we go forward.”
A prime focus is Pender Harbour, where the 12-year moratorium on private moorage applications, coupled with the Band’s unilateral moves in recent months to place traditional longhouses on dedicated parkland, have raised the hackles of some residents. A public information meeting planned for later this month is intended to dispel those concerns.
Craigan said reconciliation will benefit not only the Sechelt, but the entire Pender Harbour community, in part by setting “a precedent for how standards in the rest of the area are kept and respected, in particular Sakinaw Lake, Ruby Lake, the watersheds in the area.”
The chief’s pledge of transparency and inclusion for the broader community will extend to the whole territory, he said. In fact, he said, plans for another public information meeting are already in the works, this time for Roberts Creek, “as soon as we get the word on Elphinstone.”
Last fall, the Sechelt announced they would protect the lower slopes of Mount Elphinstone within their territory from industrial development. Although the province initially said BC Timber Sales would continue with its harvesting plans in the area, Craigan said there was a subsequent meeting and the province is now “working collaboratively with us to find other systems that would protect Elphinstone.”
With former chief and current councillor Garry Feschuk working on the file, Craigan said his council feels “very confident and assured that Elphinstone is going to be protected through this new system that we’re negotiating.”
Craigan’s confidence and optimism about the future of the Sunshine Coast won’t convince everyone. Pender Harbour residents in particular have expressed suspicion, cynicism, even outrage at what they see as an attempt to reverse and perhaps rewrite history at their expense.
All I can say is give Sechelt a chance. Listen to their stories. Engage.
