It has been six years since the TsilhqotB次元官网网址檌n Nation won title to more than 1,700 square kilometres of land in the Chilcotin Plateau west of Williams Lake, and the expiry of temporary access agreements for long-established ranch and resort operators has left them wondering if they can continue.
Felix Schellenberg has run for 41 years, now an organic beef producer that has expanded to include a popular butcher shop in Vancouver called Pasture to Plate Natural Products. He says the May 31 expiry of B次元官网网址渂ridging agreementsB次元官网网址� with the province and Ottawa since the landmark 2014 Supreme Court of Canada award of title to the TsilhqotB次元官网网址檌n, Xeni GwetB次元官网网址檌n and member bands jeopardizes the future of his operation and others in the region.
B次元官网网址淧eople are feeling very insecure and rightly so,B次元官网网址� Schellenberg said in an interview June 2. B次元官网网址淥ne ranch down Tatla Lake Valley were told by the Nemiah Band not to turn their cattle out. Some of the lodge owners on Chilko Lake are refused access over first nations land onto their deeded land.B次元官网网址�
Cattle grazing on Crown land has been a fundamental part of ranching in the region for more than a century. Schellenberg and owners of nearby Chilko Ranch, Newton Ranch and Tatla Lake Ranch have repeatedly written to federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett, calling for a say in implementation of the territorial transfer, along with the representing lodge and tourism operators. They say they support Indigenous title but the process has been kept secret from them, similar to federal-provincial-aboriginal discussions for the WetB次元官网网址檚uwetB次元官网网址檈n territory in northwest B.C. and caribou habitat protection areas over large areas of northeast B.C.
B次元官网网址淥ver 50 per cent of our ranching operations depend on Crown land,B次元官网网址� Schellenberg said. B次元官网网址淒uring the summer for about six months we graze our cattle on Crown land, and we have licences for that and we pay our grazing fees. Now at least the Crown land is on the negotiating table, and some of the private land, I donB次元官网网址檛 know if it is as well, because there is total secrecy around the whole thing.B次元官网网址�
Premier John Horgan said June 3 he is aware of the concerns of property owners and Indigenous Relations Minister Scott Fraser and Forests Minister Doug Donaldson are B次元官网网址渨orking through that. We want to make sure we do that in the best interests of everybody, the TsilhqotB次元官网网址檌n, the local land owners and of course the broader community.B次元官网网址�
The Indigenous relations ministry also issued a statement to Black Press June 3.
B次元官网网址淭here were 10 grazing permits issued under the terms of the grazing bridging agreement that expired on Dec. 31, 2019,B次元官网网址� the ministry said. B次元官网网址淔ollowing communication with tenure holders, there is one grazing licence that will continue for 2020 with an amended area. There are also two grazing licences that continue unchanged.
B次元官网网址淭he expiry of the bridging agreements on May 31, 2020 also affected park use permits. The province is in consultation with the Xeni GwetB次元官网网址檌n and the TsilhqotB次元官网网址檌n about continuing the park use permits in the title lands, and will be reaching out to park use permit holders about the status of their permits. Other than the park use permits and the one grazing licence, no tenures have been altered or reduced. The fee structure for permit holders has not changed.B次元官网网址�
Some resort operators have asked to be bought out so they can leave the region. Those talks have continued with the B.C. ministries of Indigenous relations and forests, which announced the latest working session with the Xeni GwetB次元官网网址檌n First Nations Government had taken place May 29. Xeni GwetB次元官网网址檌n Chief Jimmy Lulua says property owners in the region need to accept that the territory is now owned by them.
B次元官网网址淴eni GwetB次元官网网址檌n has made huge sacrifices over the past five years to try and make sure that the declaration of aboriginal title did not disrupt peopleB次元官网网址檚 livelihoods, or access to parks and campsites,B次元官网网址� Lulua said in the B.C. government statement June 1.
Lulua told the Williams Lake Tribune at the end of February that his council has been working on potential buyouts, after taking over roads and permitting for water, wildlife, fishing and access from the province.
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B次元官网网址淭here are guidelines on how they get bought out and there are things that are being argued here that are understandable from them and from us,B次元官网网址� Lulua said. B次元官网网址淲e are willing to buy any of these properties, but at the end of the day, they are asking for hardship dollars and we donB次元官网网址檛 pay hardship dollars.B次元官网网址�
The transfer of Crown land has come with $55 million from Ottawa for TsilhqotB次元官网网址檌n capacity building and transition.
One of the lodge owners is Brian McCutcheon, who operates ROAM Adventures Inc. at on Chilko Lake. He sees little hope for his business under the title transfer, and has asked Xeni GwetB次元官网网址檌n for written authority to grant fisheries and other permits.
B次元官网网址淚t gives federal fisheries, fisheries buildings and even enforcement and control of a federal waterway to the Xeni GwetB次元官网网址檌n under the auspices of a tri-partite agreement,B次元官网网址� McCutcheon said. B次元官网网址淭his third party agreement effectively expropriates our ability to do business in the Chilko Lake region. Two thirds of the businesses and ranches will be terminated with no explanation or compensation.B次元官网网址�
The ministry statement said B次元官网网址渢he province is not aware of any cases where landowner access to private lands has been an issue.B次元官网网址�
tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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