First Nation allege rights to park

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An effort by the provincial government towards greening the Gulf Islands has run into opposition from local First Nations.

The northern tip of Valdes Island, a 15-square-kilometre island south of Gabriola Island, had received cabinet approval on June 19 to be converted into a provincial park, yet the Lyackson First Nation was never consulted. The reserve claims this property was stolen more than a century ago and the band didn't know this tract of land was presently available.

Chief negotiator for the Hul'qumi'num Treaty Group, of which Lyackson is one of six bands, is Robert Morales. He said it isn't the size of the park that's at issue - 1.3 square kilometres - but rather the secretiveness and how quickly the park was approved.

"We found out about this initiative within the last month," Morales said in July, "and had a meeting with (B.C.) Parks to express our concern. The next thing we know is that it went to cabinet for approval," he said.

The newly-created Wake's Cove Provincial Park contains a stand of old growth Douglas fir plus arbutus trees and some endangered plant species. Purchased for $4.12 million, the land has been privately owned since 1876 when it was said to be taken from the Lyackson band and presented to a retiring British naval officer, Captain Baldwin Wake.

On the present-day, seven- square-kilometre reserve on Valdes Island, there are no permanent inhabitants among the 200 to 300 band members. Most live in the Nanaimo area. For several years the Lyackson have expressed their interest in getting back their land, as much of the island as possible.

Morales noted its quite difficult to obtain property in the Gulf Islands, either by purchasing or through treaty negotiations, because of who owns it now.

"Unlike the rest of the province where 95 per cent is Crown land, less than 10 per cent (on Valdes) is Crown with the rest privately owned," said Morales, adding that about half of the island is owned by Weyerhauser, the forestry company.

Morales is concerned that there has been no determination of the traditional importance of this land to Lyackson. There has never been an archaeological dig.

Repeated attempts to contact the provincial Water, Land and Air Protection Department (the umbrella organization under which B.C. Parks falls) for comment were unsuccessful. In a prepared press release on June 19, Minister Joyce Murray stated Wake's Cove is an environmentally significant area that is part of fulfilling a greater role in creating more provincial and national parks in the Gulf Islands.

"Today's (June 19) approval meets our New Era commitment to make sure decisions on any new parks are made in public," wrote Murray.

Morales hopes that despite cabinet approval, there is still time for the Lyackson to play a role in Wake's Cove.

"What will the role of First Nations be in the management of the park if in fact it is too late (to change the government's approval)?" Morales said.

While the intent of the provincial government is to fulfill its obligation towards the Pacific Marine Heritage Legacy Agreement with the federal government, Morales believes time doesn't provide immunity on a disputed land claim now into its 126th year.

"Our title and interest continues to exist throughout the island. Despite the unlawful grant of the land, that does not displace the rights of Hul'qumi'num," said Morales.