Group of B.C. First Nations wants recent treaties paused, says they weren’t consulted - BERITAJA

A group of B.C. First Nations are calling connected members of the Legislative Assembly to region authorities about Bills 20 and 21.

The Wei Wai Kum First Nation (WWK), Nine Allied Tribes (NAT) and Lax Kw’alaams Band (LKB) opportunity that arsenic the bills attack 2nd reference and statement of the K’omoks (Bill 20) and Kitselas (Bill 21) First Nation treaties, politicians should cautiously see the broader nationalist liking and region the authorities until those issues are addressed.

The Nations opportunity that the K’omoks treaty claims about 80 per cent of WWK territory, and the Kitselas treaty would impact much than 90 per cent of NAT and LKB, but neither Nation has been consulted aliases fixed consent for these treaties to proceed.

Leaders and members of the 3 nations were successful Victoria and held a rally connected Monday extracurricular the legislature.

“We are wholly against the Kitselas treaty,” Mayor Garry Reece, Lax Kw’alaams First Nations, said connected the steps of the legislature connected Monday.

“There’s nary uncertainty we support them getting a treaty, but erstwhile they scope into our territory, declare into our territory, we do not work together pinch that.”

Reece said location are awesome projects underway connected the North Coast and they will not let those projects to move guardant if the authorities allows different nations to infringe connected their territory.

“I can’t extremity my group if they want to put a roadblock up there,” he added. “That’s what my group want to do now because of this treaty.”

Reece said they will halt awesome projects if they person to, which includes the description of the Port of Prince Rupert and projected LNG pipelines.

“They haven’t decently consulted pinch us,” he added.

“They request to region this treaty.”

Chief Chris Roberts, Wei Wai Kum First Nations, said they are not against treaties.

“British Columbia does request treaties,” he said. “We’re not against the pact process, but they person to beryllium done properly. And there’s a fatal flaw pinch this pact successful that it doesn’t person a due nickname of the overlap of the claims of the Comox First Nation.”

B.C.’s Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, Spencer Chandra Herbert, said they do request immoderate clip to reflect.

“I deliberation we request to return a measurement backmost and look astatine the narration betwixt Nations and the state and person those conversations,” he said.

“We person been progressive for galore years now and I would expect them to proceed truthful we could resoluteness immoderate of the issues betwixt the Nations.”

Some Nations opportunity the only measurement guardant is to region the pact process.

“It shouldn’t beryllium a agelong to region the Comox pact process, and that’s what we’re present to ask,” Roberts said.

“For a 180-day period, we’re asking them to put the Standing Committee connected Aboriginal Affairs backmost successful place, because these are very analyzable matters, but they request a batch of minds astatine the array to make judge they could get them right.”

Roberts said group are increasing restless and are concerned for the future, adding that the narration pinch the state is “disheartening” and “disappointing.”

Opposition Conservatives person been highly captious of the NDP’s handling of the Indigenous file, some done DRIPA (Declaration connected the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act) and the pact process.

“What we do not support is an inequitable attack to really this authorities is going to use authorities without due protocols successful place,” Á’a:líya (A’aliya) Warbus, MLA for Chilliwack-Cultus Lake and the Official Opposition House Leader.

“This authorities is bypassing those and steamrolling ahead.”