Posted by: syncro
^^^
Is there something that precipitated? Is this a case of the shíshálh swiya people exerting pressure in an area they can to garner an advantage for something else? What's the reasoning behind this?
I am not sure why they changed their minds, but there is a disconnect between Pender Harbour and the Sechelt Nation because even though it was a wintering grounds traditionally, they have had very little presence in the area for as long as I can remember. A lot of the older families in Pender Harbour have Sechelt blood but they never had anything to do with the band. The town is unincorporated so there is no political power to fight back, so it made it easy to proceed without having to listen or consult with the locals. They also don't need to work with any local government, including the SCRD, just the province. So they have the power to do it and not a single voice to tell them otherwise. Just like at Joffre, the discussions are not public so it is hard to know what is going on. I would bet anything all other FN's with shorelines in their traditional territory are taking notes.
The main reason they have given to eliminate the boat houses is that they shade the shallow waters of the shoreline and prevent eel grass from growing, but they are also conducting archeology through the process. That is how the dock plan was started in the first place. As far as I know there is not a lot of science backing this plan either. But it's a great plan for the Sechelt Nation because the people living on the waterfront are paying for all of the archeologists as well as any and all costs associated with the plan. If the archeologist they hire finds anything of cultural significance the owner loses their dock and this process repeats every 5 years. I am not even sure what their reasoning could possibly be for extending the plan to the lakes since there is no eel grass or tides.
As I was saying before, the one part of UNDRIP that neither of our governments seems too concerned about is transparency, but if they keep doing ham fisted stuff like this the public sentiment will turn against this entire process very quickly. Even the most progressive among us will get upset when the government inks secretive deals that cost them ten of thousands of dollars.
So I wonder, will this be a precedent for the rest of the BC coast? Will something similar come to Burrard Inlet, or Victoria Harbour? This is an example of why I strongly believe we need to look at all of this now instead of the piecemeal approach the government has taken. We need to know what is not on the table for negotiation and will be maintained for all Canadians, because I think the general public, the BC government, and the FNs all envision very different outcomes from one another.
