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Queen Charlottes focus of B.C. land claim showdown Haida shift from negotiation to litigation in bid to control hundreds of islands and surrounding waters; test case poses risk for British Columbia resource development Gary Park PNA Canadian Correspondent
vFive years after a landmark Supreme Court of Canada ruling pressured British Columbia to get on with the job of resolving aboriginal land claims, native frustration with government inaction has boiled over.
The Haida First Nation of the Queen Charlotte Islands has launched what some think could be the most significant land-claims battle in Canadian history, by filing a lawsuit seeking title to several hundred islands and the surrounding waters.
A court victory by the Haida could, many believe, derail the British Columbia government’s desire to press ahead with offshore oil and gas development and throw a wrench into natural resource projects across the province.
Although aboriginal title would not convey outright ownership of the Queen Charlottes to the Haida, it would give them a role in almost every aspect of land use. Aboriginal title not extinguished The original Supreme Court ruling said aboriginal title to much of British Columbia had never been extinguished and that governments must consult with First Nations before using land the aboriginals claim as their traditional territory.
But the case has accomplished little in kick-starting treaty negotiations to involve the entire land mass of British Columbia.
“If the governments, particularly the B.C. government, don’t move quickly to indicate that they accept the spirit of this (Supreme Court) judgment, what you’ll see is more litigation, more economic uncertainty, and that won’t benefit anybody,” said Herb George, a vice-chief of Canada’s Assembly of First Nations.
Since the ruling, First Nations have complained that the provincial government has failed to consult about using traditional lands and failed to take the land claims seriously, even though First Nations have been granted and loaned hundreds of millions of dollars to facilitate negotiations. Suits and blockades Some have gone to court to force the issue; others have taken more drastic steps, such as a series of blockades last year that forced exploration companies out of the gas-rich Ladyfern region in northeastern British Columbia.
The Haida claim covers 2.2 million acres of land and the surrounding waters within a 200-mile territorial limit from land.
That area contains an estimated 9.8 billion barrels of oil and 25.9 trillion cubic feet of gas and has been off-limits to exploration for 32 years.
Haida President Guujaaw said the First Nation, representing 7,000 members, does not believe oil and gas can safely be produced from the offshore. “The technology doesn’t exist and we are not prepared to see offshore oil and gas in any waters,” he said.
Because the British Columbia government has refused to negotiate with the Haida or recognize aboriginal title “we have no choice but to take the title case to court,” Guujaaw said.
Louise Mandell, an attorney for the Haida, said she believes the claim is “groundbreaking,” representing the first time an aboriginal group in Canada has laid title to surrounding waters and offshore resources.
She said the case law is already established by the Supreme Court of Canada that “where there are fishing rights there is the capacity to protect the environment. So the offshore issues are already engaged.”
Reinforcing the Haida case was a British Columbia Court of Appeal ruling in February against the provincial government and Weyerhaeuser Canada Co. Ltd. affecting 600,000 acres of the Queen Charlottes.
The court agreed with the Haida argument that pulp and paper producer Weyerhaeuser should not be allowed to follow past practices of harvesting trees while a treaty settlement process was under way.
Appeal Court Justice Douglas Lambert , in issuing the ruling, said that although aboriginal title has yet to be determined it appeared the Haida would be “able to establish aboriginal title to at least some of the coastal and inland areas” of the Queen Charlottes. Investors could be spooked A spokesman for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said the Haida claim could spook investors in the offshore, including Shell Canada Ltd., Petro-Canada and Chevron Canada Ltd., the only leaseholders in the area.
British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell said his government would need time to assess the merits of the Haida claim, but added British Columbia would make no moves to lift the offshore moratorium without the support of the Canadian government and the aboriginal communities.
In the meantime, he has angered First Nations leaders by ordering a province-wide referendum for June 5 on settling aboriginal treaties, although the wording of the question has yet to be made public.
Native leaders have said they will boycott the referendum, which they have described as racist.
Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal appealed for negotiations rather than long and costly court action to settle the Haida claim.
He said the claim could also be settled in sections, which would benefit the Haida, instead of waiting for an overall deal on all issues.
British Columbia Attorney General Geoff Plant said the courts have been “very clear” that the government is the landlord in British Columbia. “We need to work hard to ensure that we accommodate aboriginal rights and title and other aboriginal interests,” he said.
“I think that offshore oil and gas in the long run, if it can be done in a way that’s environmentally safe, could offer huge opportunities for First Nations.”
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