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Daily Mail
29-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Canada blocking millions from parks over 'apartheid' scheme for the indigenous to 'reconnect' with land
Canadian nature lovers are outraged by a government decision to shutter beauty spots to the public so they can be used exclusively by native groups to 'reconnect' with the land. Outdoors enthusiasts have slammed the government of British Columbia for closing Joffre Lakes Park and its turquoise waters for more than 100 days in peak season to regular taxpayers. The same goes for the 24-hour closure of Botanical Beach on Vancouver Island to nonindigenous people, so members of the Pacheedaht First Nation could have it to themselves. Critics have taken to social media to slam the closures as unfair and 'apartheid, Canadian-style,' with native groups getting special treatment as everyone else is sidelined. The province's Ministry of Environment and Parks has called the closures part of a 'path of reconciliation' with native people. The controversy follows a blockbuster Canadian election that was overshadowed by US President Donald Trump 's push to make Canada a '51st state' of America. The vast country has been convulsed by its own culture wars after a decade of former prime minister Justin Trudeau's ultra-liberal rule. Caroline Elliott, director of the Public Land Use Society, a campaign group, slammed the closure of Joffre Lakes as unfair in a recent post on X that's been viewed 172,000 times and generated hundred of comments. 'It's divisive, it sets a terrible precedent, and it's just plain wrong,' Elliott says in the video. 'What it isn't is complicated. BC's parks belong to all British Columbians.' Angry social media users commented on the video, saying the shuttering was 'discriminatory,' and amounted to 'identity politics,' 'racial segregation,' and even an 'apartheid, Canadian-style.' 'These are provincial parks, not tribal reserves,' posted one user. 'Everyone pays for them. Everyone maintains them. Everyone should be welcome.' Joffre Lakes park has been closed in peak season so that the Líl̓wat Nation and the N'Quatqua First Nation can have exclusive access to its turquoise lakes, streams, and forests annually since 2023. Each year, the closures have grown longer, leaving some worried that one of the province's busiest parks would be shuttered to nonindigenous residents permanently in the future. The closure lasted for only 39 days in 2023, but grew to 60 days in 2024 and more than 100 days this year, says Elliott. The ministry in a statement to the Daily Mail said it was 'important to give time and space for the land to rest, while ensuring the Nations can use this space as they always have.' 'We have built a strong relationship with the Lil'wat and N'Quatqua to make sure the natural and cultural values of the park are protected,' said the statement. 'We continue to work with the Nations to ensure opportunities exist for people to access the park in a responsible and sustainable way.' Back in 2023, the closure was not initiated by the officials – native groups unilaterally decided to deny access to other residents so they could practice their hunting and fishing traditions there. The park closures have set off a firestorm of complaints on social media A statement from the group at the time said they were 'asserting our Title and Rights to our shared unceded territory to take this time to harvest and gather our resources within our territories.' During last year's closure, Líl̓wat Nation Chief Dean Nelson said the park was sacred to his community. 'We are striving to reintroduce our community to an area where they have been marginalized,' Nelson told CBC. 'The time and space created by these closures will allow our youth, elders and all Líl̓wat citizens to practise their inherent rights while reconnecting with the land.' The day-long closure of Botanical Beach park on Vancouver Island and its beloved tidal pools on May 25 has also raised concerns. In a statement, the parks department said the area was once home to the Pacheedaht, but that the area's growing popularity made it 'challenging' for members of the group to access it. Elsewhere in British Columbia, federally run recreation areas have also been closed to the public, with authorities also citing cultural concerns. They include parts of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve and Parts of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Elliot's campaign group says the closures set a worrying precedent. In the case of Joffre Lakes park, native groups have only asserted land rights, but they've not been established in court, she says. The hiking enthusiast said it was worrying that 'mere assertion of title confers the right to prohibit public access to public spaces.' 'What would prevent more closures like this, not just in other parks, but in relation to any other public lands?' she added.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
B.C. extends deferral of logging in Fairy Creek amid reports of tree spiking
VICTORIA — The British Columbia government has approved a legal order to extend temporary protections to an old-growth forest on Vancouver Island even as the minister of forests acknowledged that the RCMP are investigating reports of tree spiking in the area. Ravi Parmar said he was informed of the reports last week, calling the news of such vandalism "incredibly alarming." Spikes are typically metal and can injure or even kill a person who attempts to cut down or mill the tree. "I want to be very crystal clear to British Columbians, anyone who goes out and spikes a tree, puts the lives of forestry workers on the line, risks their safety, potential death each and every day, I want to condemn these actions," Parmar told reporters on Wednesday. The minister said spiking is a "dangerous criminal activity" that puts health and safety of forestry workers at risk, adding that the province immediately notified both the forestry licensee and the local First Nation. 'It is outrageous that individuals and the groups they are connected to feel that causing serious injury to workers furthers their cause," said Brian Butler, president of United Steelworkers Local 1-1937. The Fairy Creek area received international attention in recent years due to protests after logging permits were granted in 2020. This allowed the cutting of timber, including old-growth trees, in areas in and around the Fairy Creek watershed. Almost 1,200 opponents of old-growth logging were arrested at Fairy Creek for defying court orders preventing interference with harvesting operations. The Teal-Jones Group, whose tree farm licence covers the Fairy Creek area, said in a 2022 statement that spikes had been found in trees logged from the area. It said that while they have measures to detect spiked logs, one made it through and the blade hit the metal spike, destroying the saw and nearly hitting a worker, which could have killed him. The provincial government's announcement that it granted a logging deferral extension to Sept. 30, 2026, applies to the order that was first issued in 2021. It follows the first extension that expires Feb. 1 of this year and came at the request of the Pacheedaht First Nation, whose territories encompass the entire watershed. "We have their support as they do the important work of developing an integrated resource management plan, which will decide the fate of their territories as it relates to forestry in the days and weeks and months ahead," Parmar said, adding they've still got some work to do and need more time. The Forests Ministry says the deferral protects almost 1,200 hectares or Crown land in the Fairy Creek watershed. It says the protections will allow for continued discussions about the long-term management of the watershed with the Pacheedaht First Nation, adding that the move is "consistent with government's commitments to reconciliation and to protecting British Columbia's oldest and rarest forest ecosystems." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2025. Marcy Nicholson, The Canadian Press Sign in to access your portfolio
CBC
29-01-2025
- Politics
- CBC
B.C. extends deferral of old growth logging in Vancouver Island's Fairy Creek watershed, again
The British Columbia government has once again extended an order deferring old-growth logging in the Fairy Creek watershed on Vancouver Island. The deferral was initially made in 2021 at the request of local First Nations and against the backdrop of ongoing protests and arrests, which have been cited as among the largest in Canadian history. It has already been extended in the past, with the most recent deferral set to expire on Feb. 1., 2025, at the request of the Pacheedaht First Nation, whose territories encompass the entire watershed. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar says the B.C. NDP government is continuing talks with the Pacheedaht in order to "build a strong, robust and sustainable forest sector for the next 100 years." The deferral protects just under 12 square kilometres of timber on Crown land within the watershed. When it announced the initial deferral in 2021, the province said the postponement to old-growth logging would allow Pacheedaht titleholders time to build resource-stewardship plans for their lands. Almost 1,200 opponents of old-growth logging were arrested at Fairy Creek after an injunction preventing interference with harvesting operations was issued and then extended in 2021, prompting then-B.C. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau to call the protest the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history. The B.C. Prosecution Service has since withdrawn contempt charges against several of those accused of violating the injunction and is expected to drop more charges after a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled RCMP made arrests without properly informing demonstrators of the injunction's details. The protection of Fairy Creek was part of the most recent co-operation agreement signed by the B.C. NDP and B.C. Green Party in December, following last year's provincial election.
