William Lake, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 6, 2024) - The owner of a privately owned lodge that is surrounded by declared aboriginal titled lands in central BC is issuing a warning to property owners on Haida Gwaii, following BC's recent agreement with the Haida Nation to acknowledge aboriginal title there.
"Let there be no mistake - you cannot trust government to protect your interests in the so called two-year 'transition period'," said Karen McLean, owner of Ts'yl-os Lodge. "We were given similar assurances nearly 10 years ago - and to this day all we see is confusion, timidness and secrecy on the part of the BC government."
Ts'yl-os Lodge is a strong supporter of Indigenous rights and supports the aspirations of the Haida people. Ms. McLean herself intervened in support of the Tsilhqot'in Nation in its historic aboriginal title case, where the Supreme Court of Canada declared aboriginal title to exist for the first time in Canadian history.
"While I have strongly supported aboriginal title, I feel I have been completely abandoned by a provincial government that does not know what to do once it's established," said McLean. "And I don't know why property owners on Haida Gwaii should believe it will be any different for them."
In the Tsilhqot'in decision, private lands were excluded from the aboriginal title area. But the use and value of private lands is heavily affected by how the surrounding lands are managed - especially through Land Act tenures. "Maintaining fee simple 'ownership' is not very comforting if the land is in a sea of governmental uncertainty," said McLean.
Ts'yl-os Lodge strongly encourages other private property owners affected by aboriginal title to speak up and advance a vision of reconciliation that leaves no one behind. "It is essential all British Columbians understand how ill-equipped the government is to manage the situation once aboriginal title is established," said McLean. "Everyone - even those in the cities - should be worried because Premier David Eby has called the Haida agreement a "template" for other parts of BC."
In 2023 McLean and Ts'yl-os Lodge initiated a legal claim against the province alleging, among other things, that the "Province misstated the protections that would be put in place to protect the plaintiffs' legal interests and operations" after the Tsilhqot'in aboriginal title declaration. That case is working its way through the court system.
Ms. McLean has also today written local governments on Haida Gwaii, offering to attend open council meetings to publicly discuss her experiences with government's handling of these issues. A copy of that letter is attached.
Contact:
Karen McLean
karen@tsylos.com
June 6, 2024
| North Coast Regional District 14 - 342 3rd Avenue West, Prince Rupert, BC V8J 1L5 | Daajing Giids (Queen Charlotte) 903 A Oceanview Drive, Daajing Giids, BC V0T 1S0 |
| Town of Masset 1686 Main Street, Masset, BC V0T 1M0 | Town of Port Clements PO Box 198, 36 Cedar Avenue West, Port Clements, Haida Gwaii, BC V0T 1R0 |
| Attention: Mayors and Councillors |
Dear Sirs and Mesdames,
I am writing you regarding the recent agreement between the province and the Haida Nation Council to acknowledge Aboriginal title across the entirely of Haida Gwaii.
We are private property owners and lodge operators in an area of the province that was declared subject to Tsilhqot'in aboriginal title in 2014 (though private lands were excluded) in the historic case of Tsilhqot'in Nation v. British Columbia. Due to this, we have significant experience with the processes used and challenges faced as the provincial government attempts to manage the transition from vast areas of Crown land to Aboriginal title land. Unfortunately, in our case the experience has been extremely challenging (even though we maintain "ownership" of our fee simple property). In fact, it has forced us to file litigation against the province, which is ongoing.
We have followed with interest the public debate regarding the Haida agreement, and in particular assurances given by the BC government to engage third parties and integrate their interests into the two year "transition" process. Unfortunately, we feel compelled to share with you that, in our experience, such assurances provide extremely little comfort. So much so, that we believe it would be very helpful for your councils and citizens to understand more about what is actually happening in the only such "transition" happening to date in BC. In our case it has been going on for 10 years - not two - and there is still no clarity or certainty in sight.
In offering these comments, I wish to emphasize that we have been strong supporters of Indigenous rights and fully support the aspirations of the Haida Nation. Indeed, I intervened in support of the Tsilhqot'in Nation in its historic aboriginal title case, where the Supreme Court of Canada declared aboriginal title to exist for the first time in Canadian history. But we believe true reconciliation cannot occur if fee simple owners and businesses are abandoned by their own government once aboriginal title is established.
Given all this, I am writing to offer to meet with your councils, in public sessions, to discuss our experiences and to answer to the best of my ability any questions you or private property owners and businesses on Haida Gwaii may have. Please let me know if you have any interest in doing so. If that is the case, I will be happy to work with you to set up a time to attend such a meeting (likely virtually).
Yours truly
Per: Karen Mclean
Tsylos Lodge and Karen McLean
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/212028
SOURCE: Tsylos Park Lodge & Adventures Ltd.
