Latest news with #Nuchatlaht
Globe and Mail
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Globe Climate: B.C. cedes provincial park to Nuchatlaht First Nation
If you're reading this on the web or someone forwarded this e-mail newsletter to you, you can sign up for Globe Climate and all Globe newsletters here. Good afternoon, and welcome to Globe Climate, a newsletter about climate change, environment and resources in Canada. Wildfires continue to burn through Western Canada. Manitoba and Saskatchewan have evacuated more than 30,000 people, with both provinces under states of emergency. Officials in Alberta and British Columbia are contending with dozens of fires, too. Now, new fires have led Ontario to request military support, with 26 actively burning in the northwest region. Prime Minister Mark Carney said yesterday that he called upon the Canadian Armed Forces to airlift nearly 3,000 people from Sandy Lake First Nation. Even G7 summit preparations in Alberta now include plans for wildfire evacuations. Now, let's catch you up on other news. For this week's deeper dive, a closer look at a ruling that establishes Aboriginal title can supersede park protections on Crown land. British Columbia quietly ceded control of a large portion of a provincial park off the west coast of Vancouver Island, in response to a precedent-setting court ruling on an Indigenous land claim. The B.C. Supreme Court declared last year that the Nuchatlaht, a First Nation with 180 members, has proved Aboriginal title to 1,140 hectares of land on the north end of Nootka Island. Jack Woodward, the lawyer who represented the Nuchatlaht, says it is the first time parkland has been included in a title ruling from the courts. It is also setting precedent that Aboriginal title can supersede park protections on Crown land. He also said that the governments of Canada and B.C. have failed to provide legal guidance for Aboriginal title lands. The title lands include 320 hectares of old-growth forest in Nuchatlitz Park, which was established in 1996 with the primary goal of protecting special natural features. The land, about 110 kilometres northwest of Tofino, includes critical habitat for several at-risk species, including sea otters, the wandering salamander and the marbled murrelet (a small seabird), and features increasingly rare coastal sand ecosystems. Thomas Isaac, an expert in Aboriginal law at the Vancouver law firm Cassels, said the province has legislative tools to protect the park, but is not using them. 'The legislative objective of protecting the environment can justifiably infringe an Aboriginal right, including title,' he said. 'The government is negligent, asleep on the job. The Nuchatlaht is not responsible for the public interest‚' he said, adding that it's up to governments to balance Indigenous interests with those of the wider public. Meanwhile, The First Nation is building a road through the former parkland for its members. They have plans to develop their title lands with 'really strict guidelines.' Public access to parts of Nuchatlitz Park is also no longer assured, and the province says it is up to visitors to ensure they are not trespassing. Kayakers and recreational boaters are only just learning, through word-of-mouth, that the popular destination is no longer public land. Read the full story today. Ajay Virmani: These wildfires will cost Canada more than you think André Picard: The risks of bird flu are real. We can't bury our heads in the sand, even for the love of ostriches Barry Hertz: Jai Courtney jumps the shark, in a good way, with gonzo Aussie thriller Dangerous Animals Energy investment to reach record US$3.3-trillion worldwide, IEA says Global energy investment is set to increase to a record US$3.3-trillion this year, with clean technologies attracting twice as much capital as fossil fuels, according to a new report. Forecasts in the 2025 World Energy Investment report, released Thursday by the International Energy Agency, underscore how global investment trends are leaning toward clean energy, even at a time of geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties. Keep reading We've launched the next chapter of The Climate Exchange, an interactive, digital hub where The Globe answers your most pressing questions about climate change. More than 300 questions were submitted as of September. The first batch of answers tackles 30 of them. They can be found with the help of a search tool developed by The Globe that makes use of artificial intelligence to match readers' questions with the closest answer drafted. We plan to answer a total of 75 questions. We want to hear from you. E-mail us: GlobeClimate@ Do you know someone who needs this newsletter? Send them to our Newsletters page.
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
B.C. cedes much of Nuchatlitz provincial park to Nuchatlaht First Nation
The B.C. government has quietly ceded a large portion of a provincial park off the west coast of Vancouver Island, in response to a precedent-setting court ruling on an Indigenous land claim. Public access to parts of Nuchatlitz Park is no longer assured, after the B.C. Supreme Court declared last year that the Nuchatlaht, a First Nation with 180 members, has proved Aboriginal title to 1,140 hectares of land on the north end of Nootka Island. The remnants of the park are not marked, and the province says it is up to visitors to ensure they are not trespassing. Kayakers and recreational boaters are only just learning, through word of mouth, that the popular destination is no longer public land. Meanwhile, the First Nation is building a road through the former parkland for its members. The lawyer for the Nuchatlaht says it is the first time parkland has been included in a title ruling from the courts. The title lands include 320 hectares of old-growth forest in Nuchatlitz Park, which was established in 1996 with the primary goal of protecting special natural features. The land, about 110 kilometres northwest of Tofino, includes critical habitat for several at-risk species, including sea otters, the wandering salamander and the marbled murrelet (a small seabird), and features increasingly rare coastal sand ecosystems. The Nuchatlaht argued that the park was created without their approval and brought many visitors to the area without any benefit to the Indigenous community. A spokesperson for the First Nation says that guidance for the public has yet to be determined. 'We know the kayakers and the guys with the four-wheelers will be going there,' said Archie Little, an elder and councillor, 'and so we have to set the policies that they don't harm or damage the land.' Mr. Little said the Nuchatlaht plan to develop their title lands. 'Hopefully we will have some logging to do but with really strict guidelines.' Much of their traditional territory on Nootka Island has already been commercially logged, making the former parkland one of the few pockets of intact forest. Robert Devault, who has lived on a private island adjacent to Nuchatlitz for more than 50 years, is concerned about the road being built. It appears to be designed for resource development, he said. 'I'm hoping that what they're doing now won't be completely destructive, but my main disappointment is the lack of response from the government.' While he supports the Nuchatlaht people in asserting their Aboriginal title, Mr. Devault said the province should have negotiated some protections. 'We have entrusted the government to save those parks for everybody, for the future, not only humans, but for the environment. And so it's a betrayal.' The NDP government has committed to reconciliation with First Nations. Last year, it signed a groundbreaking agreement to recognize that the Haida Nation has Aboriginal title to all one million hectares of the Haida Gwaii archipelago. It has also agreed to temporary close the popular Joffre Lakes Park near Pemberton for parts of this summer, at the request of the Lil'wat and N'Quatqua First Nations. Tamara Davidson, B.C.'s Minister of Environment and Parks, declined to comment on the Nuchatlaht case. A member of her staff said the matter is still before the courts. The Nuchatlaht are appealing the decision because it granted them only roughly 5 per cent of the territory they claim. The appeal, however, does not apply to the existing title lands. The province still promotes Nuchatliz Park as a destination for wilderness camping, although the boundaries of its remaining 175 hectares of parkland are not obvious. The province has simply ceased to apply the law that governs parkland and protected areas for the portion that is now Nuchatlaht land. Jack Woodward, the lawyer who represented the Nuchatlaht, said that the courts have set a precedent establishing that Aboriginal title can supersede park protections on Crown land. 'When you have Aboriginal title, you are entitled to the full economic benefit of the land,' he said in an interview. 'You're unencumbered by a whole bunch of things that would prevent you from using the land.' Jacinthe Goulet, a spokesperson for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, said there are no Aboriginal title lands outside of British Columbia, although there is active title litigation across Canada. Currently, there is no federal law that defines governance of Aboriginal title lands, but Ottawa asserts that federal laws and provincial laws of general application - statutes that apply to all residents without exception - continue to stand on those lands. Mr. Woodward said the governments of Canada and B.C. have failed to provide legal guidance for Aboriginal title lands. 'We're left in a complete legislative vacuum. There are now two places in Canada where we know that there's Aboriginal title. That is the Tsilhqot'in territory, and also Nuchatlaht territory. We know that there's Aboriginal title there, but there is no legislation guiding this,' said Mr. Woodward, who also won the Tsilhqot'in case in B.C. 11 years ago. Indigenous groups in U.S. and Canada clash over cross-border land claims Thomas Isaac, an expert in Aboriginal law at the Vancouver law firm Cassels, said the province has legislative tools to protect the park, but is not using them. 'The legislative objective of protecting the environment can justifiably infringe an Aboriginal right, including title,' he said. 'The government is negligent, asleep on the job. The Nuchatlaht is not responsible for the public interest‚' he said, adding that it's up to governments to balance Indigenous interests with those of the wider public. Several environmental organizations supported the First Nation in its court battle. 'Colonial governments and corporations have degraded the splendour of Nootka Island,' the Wilderness Committee wrote in a 2022 report about to the case. Torrance Coste, the non-profit's national campaign director, said the Nuchatlaht have the right to manage and access their territories as they see fit. 'While First Nations rights and title are ignored and actively denied by the B.C. government, logging, mining, oil and gas and other industries blast thousands of kilometres of roads every year,' he said. 'This has been and remains our bigger concern.'
