Campbell River's director of economic development and Indigenous relations sent a letter outlining the city's Truth and Reconciliation efforts, but it has failed to ease tensions within the community.
Rose Klukas' letter was sent in response to an Indigenous activist's concerns.
"I can only speak for myself, and while I appreciate the heartfelt words of Rose, I don't feel it's good enough," said Jamie Bryant, who wrote a letter to the council regarding the council's handling of Indigenous-related matters such as the restoring traditional names to geographical features and the destruction of Red Dress memorials along Hwy 19.
"If the city had/has an issue that contained a negative response, there should have been collaboration and conversation prior to a council meeting so those comments were not made publicly. Personally, Coun. Ben Lanyon's response demonstrates the issues we face daily within our community. His implicit biases should have been checked, and he should have been made aware and educated on this important topic so a community of First Nations people did not feel deflated and defeated."
Lanyon, in an Oct. 8 meeting regarding the BC Geographical Names Office's (through a request from the Li千史i艂dax史 First Nations) proposed restoration of the original names of Discovery Passage, Quinsam River and Tyee Spit to their original names (Li千史i艂dax史 虒 Passage, K史蓹ns蓹m, and 蕯uxstalis), said the request "was out of step with the current state of public opinion".
"The only one that I'm struggling with is the 'I can't actually pronounce it' passage," said Lanyon during the meeting, but spoke in support of the other two names. "... I am not sure my opinions actually represent the broader public that elected us, so I am not comfortable saying to the province that there is no opposition. I think there might be within the community. The whole idea with reconciliation is it's a great direction to take, but the pace is the debatable part, and I think if the pace is happening too quickly, it can actually cause unintended consequences later on in terms of public opposition to what could be a good thing, so we just have to be careful."
Lanyon also said he had some opposition to the naming of Li千史i艂dax史 虒 (pronounced Lee-gwilthdaxw) Passage.
The council's response to the proposal resulted in Bryant creating a petition in favour of the name changes. Members of the Li千史i艂dax史 First Nations also had a meeting with Mayor Kermit Dahl, Klukas, and CAO Elle Brovold on Nov. 5 to discuss the proposal, as well as the destruction and removal of red dresses on Hwy 19.
After the meeting, the council was supportive of the name changes, writing a letter to the BC Geographical Names Society and asking the province to work with Li千史i艂dax史 First Nations.
However, Bryant, who was not at the meeting, said the meeting left a sour taste in some people's mouths, particularly focusing on Lanyon's behaviour.
"I spoke to one of the Elders recently who sat in the council meeting, and she told me she will never forget the look on Coun. Lanyon's face. It was a look of disgust. He never once looked a community member in the eye the entire meeting. He just refused to see them there. This is colonization continuing B次元官网网址� we are not seen, not heard. Hearing this from her absolutely killed me."
Bryant added that it shouldn't have taken one month for the city to change its opinion on the matter, nor should it have taken a petition, media coverage, meeting with First Nation's community members and a letter from MP Rachel Blaney.
"We should be beyond that, but obviously, there is so much more to do, like Rose said in her letter, but this should be done now. Education and awareness to leadership so they can check their implicit bias to be better leaders for our community," Bryant said.
In addition to the complaints about the city's handling of the red dresses, Bryant said Klukas' response provides no concrete actions the city "is willing to take."
On Dec. 4, Bryant sent a letter to Gary MacIsaac, executive director for the Union of British Columbia Municipalities about her concerns regarding Klukas' response to the letter she sent.
"While I appreciate the city's recognition of the trauma caused by the vandalism of the red dresses along Highway 19 and the mention of their ongoing reconciliation efforts, the response as a whole falls far short of what is needed to address the gravity of these issues and the broader systemic injustices that Indigenous peoples continue to face in this community," reads the letter.
"It is disheartening that vandalizing red dressesB次元官网网址攕ymbols of mourning and remembrance for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girlsB次元官网网址攚ould be reduced to an incident to report via the RCMP. This clearly signals the city's lack of recognition of the emotional and cultural weight of such acts, which are not isolated, but are part of the larger racial discrimination Indigenous peoples endure daily in Campbell River."
The City of Campbell River reached out to Jamie Bryant following receipt of the letter sent to the MacIsaac.
"The City looked to address many of the points Jamie raised but also suggested meeting in person in January to discuss some of the matters in further detail," said Alison Harrower, the city's communication manager.
In direct response to the city's Facebook post on Nov. 28, Bryant admits that the post (acknowledges the trauma caused, but offers no real actions to address the vandalism and destruction of the red dresses, nor does it show support to those involved in the Red Dress Project.
The letter also cites the 2023 Point-in-Time Survey. The survey, done by BC Housing, found that 50 per cent of Campbell River's homeless population are Indigenous.
"Yet, despite these alarming statistics, the city has taken no action to support the vital services provided by organizations like Kwesa Place and Hama?Elas Community Kitchen," Bryant's letter says. "These organizations, which provide shelter and support for the unhoused and struggling families, have been given just eight months' notice to find a new location, with no support from the city. This is both an omission and an abandonment of our most vulnerable community members."
On Nov. 25, the City of Campbell River announced an plan to revitalize the downtown area, which includes the removal of Kwesa Place and the Hama?Elas Community Kitchen. The properties are to be vacant by June 30.
"The City continues to acknowledge the trauma caused by the destruction of the red dresses and opposes the destruction of private property in private correspondence and publicly," said Harrower. "We continue to make strides toward reconciliation through various initiatives, though we acknowledge there is still much work to be done."
