The Musqueam Indian Band is trying to offer reassurance about the impact on property rights as details emerge about a Feb. 20 agreement between the First Nation and the federal government – while B.C.’s premier is forced to explain what he knew about the deal, and when.
The nation acknowledges heightened fears for property rights in light of the Cowichan Tribes decision, which finds Aboriginal and fee-simple title co-exist on private property in an area of land in Richmond.
“These agreements do not relate to land ownership, and there are absolutely no impacts to fee simple lands/private property,” the Musqueam Nation said in a March 2 statement. “We recognize how impactful the Cowichan judgement has been on everyone – including us. It’s why we are appealing the judgment.”
The judge in that case ordered the province to reconcile private and Aboriginal title “in good faith,” but stopped short of taking the land from its owners, something the First Nation says it is not seeking. Nevertheless, the Musqueam is appealing, arguing it infringes on Musqueam rights. Other parties to the Cowichan case are also appealing, for different reasons.
The Feb. 20 Musqueam agreement, which has been posted online by several news organizations and reporters, affirms that the nation has rights and title within its territory, which is defined as a broad swath of the Lower Mainland, from Harvey Creek in Howe Sound to the Coquitlam River to the Fraser River.
But it does not declare title over any specific piece of land — it only commits to demonstrating “progress” in implementing the nation’s rights and title. It then lays out the terms of negotiation and dispute resolution. It also says that nothing in the deal constitutes a treaty or land claims agreement.
And it affirms the nation’s fishing rights, creating a path for the Musqueam to have a federally supported role in fisheries management.
When the deal was signed at a public event in Vancouver on Feb. 20, both the federal government and the Musqueam issued news releases, but it did not gain major traction as a news story until the past weekend.
As the story gained steam, it also generated controversy in the B.C. legislature when Premier David Eby said he was unaware of the contents of the agreement in an answer to a question at an unrelated news conference on Monday (March 2).
“I haven’t been briefed yet on the contents of these agreements,” Eby said. “I look forward to learning more about what the federal government’s been doing here.”
Eby added that the fact that the agreement is generating such concern about private property rights is teaching the federal government a “lesson” that there is a heightened environment in B.C. about these issues at the moment.
But it turns out that Eby was at the signing of the agreement in person on Feb. 20. His office confirmed this.
Eby was forced to address these inconsistencies during question period.
“He actually sat front row at a signing ceremony and then said he was caught surprised, just like everybody else,” B.C. Conservative interim Leader Trevor Halford said. “I’m not buying it, and I don’t think the public are buying it.”
Eby maintains he was not formally briefed on the agreement, despite having been in attendance. He also said he regularly attends Musqueam events in his capacity as a local MLA.
“I absolutely sat in the front row,” he responded. “I was glad to see the federal government working with the Musqueam people, but I didn’t know the content of the agreements until they were released publicly by the federal government.”
Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty told CTV News that B.C. was briefed “a number of weeks ago.”
B.C. Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Minister Spencer Chandra Herbert said a “junior staffer” was given verbal information before the Feb. 20 announcement, but said the details of the agreement were not provided.
B.C. Greens MLA Rob Botterell had a different take on this situation, calling the Conservatives’ critique “irresponsible political theatre,” and saying it is unfortunate the agreement was made public in this way. He also pointed out that the Musqueam have been clear that they are not trying to take people’s private property away, he said.
“The B.C. Greens support agreements between First Nations and governments that recognize Aboriginal rights, including title,” Botterell said in a written statement on Monday. “We need more of this work, not less.”