VICTORIA B次元官网网址� It has been 15 years since I wrote a commentary objecting to the B.C. government pushing aside its own hard-won treaty process to reach an unprecedented land-and-cash settlement with the NisgaB次元官网网址檃 Nation for their ancient Nass River territory.
My objection, and that of many others, was the imposition of a parallel state with collectively owned land enshrined for all time. This was an ailing NDP government rushing to enable a property ownership system that has demonstrated little but failure and suffering around the world.
The NisgaB次元官网网址檃 are proving me wrong, and this was again demonstrated at a little-noticed ceremony at the B.C. legislature last week.
The B.C. government had just passed amendments to allow a gas pipeline through NisgaB次元官网网址檃 Memorial Lava Bed Park, the first co-managed provincial park in B.C. history. Another bill enabled the NisgaB次元官网网址檃 Lisims government to impose industrial property tax on liquefied natural gas production. were signed so the NisgaB次元官网网址檃 legislature can do the same this week.
In recent years, the NisgaB次元官网网址檃 disposed of concern about collective land restrictions by adopting a . And Supreme Court of Canada decisions have repeatedly answered protests about the establishment of a parallel state B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 what it is, so get used to it.
The NisgaB次元官网网址檃 have moved to assemble four fee-simple tidewater sites for LNG terminals, joining the Haisla Nation at Kitimat in reaching aggressively for a modern economy through gas export. The NisgaB次元官网网址檃 have partnered with TransCanada Corp. on a 900-km pipeline to supply the $11-billion LNG project led by Petronas for the Prince Rupert port. And they donB次元官网网址檛 intend to stop there.
B次元官网网址淲e want to be part of the Canadian business establishment,B次元官网网址� said former NisgaB次元官网网址檃 Nation president Joe Gosnell.
The signing ceremony was briefly disrupted by one of a small group of Vancouver-based NisgaB次元官网网址檃 who have been using modern protest tactics against this decision. We werenB次元官网网址檛 consulted, itB次元官网网址檚 a desecration of victims of a volcanic eruption, itB次元官网网址檚 a threat to eelgrass beds, and so forth, say well-rehearsed young men with video cameras running.
NisgaB次元官网网址檃 President Mitchell Stevens has patiently and repeatedly explained that NisgaB次元官网网址檃 legislature rules were relaxed to allow every hereditary chief to speak to elected leaders on this pivotal move. After that it received the required two-thirds majority support.
Gosnell, the revered chief negotiator who carried the treaty over the goal line in 2000, moved slowly with the help of an ornately carved cane to speak at a reception. He seemed genuinely surprised that he has lived long enough to see the fruits of generations of labour.
Gosnell recounted the 1887 paddling trip down the B.C. coast from the Nass Valley to Victoria to present the NisgaB次元官网网址檃 territorial claim, where the tribal leaders were turned away on the steps of the legislature by Premier William Smithe. It would take until 1910 for Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier to promise a settlement, and until 1949 for NisgaB次元官网网址檃 Chief Frank Calder to be elected to the B.C. legislature.
In 2000, when the treaty received royal assent in Ottawa, Gosnell took part in a ceremonial burning of the Indian Act and got to work on implementing self-government.
And on Nov. 27, 2014, B.C. Liberal, NDP and independent MLAs voted unanimously to open the way to an industrial future for the NisgaB次元官网网址檃.
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 what being alive means to me today,B次元官网网址� Gosnell said. B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檝e got to have big dreams. Maybe all those dreams wonB次元官网网址檛 come true, but at least you have the ability to dream big. And boy, are we ever dreaming big.B次元官网网址�
Tom Fletcher is legislature reporter and columnist for Black Press. Twitter:
