British Columbians are in for a big shock when ownership of large parts of the province switches from the Crown to First Nations, says Aboriginal rights and title lawyer Jack Woodward.
Woodward, who acts on behalf of First Nations in court, believes itsa国际传媒檚 going to be a big adjustment but thatsa国际传媒檚 going to be a good thing for the province.
sa国际传媒淥ver the next generation, wesa国际传媒檙e going to see a replacement of ownership of large parts of the province,sa国际传媒� Woodward said during a one-hour presentation hosted by the Campbell River Mirror on Zoom March 18 entitled Understanding Indigenous Rights and Title in Canada.
The shift in ownership will be from what is normally called Crown ownership to Indigenous ownership, sa国际传媒淣ot for the entire province butsa国际传媒or fairly large chunks of it,sa国际传媒� he said.
The public was invited to listen into a conversation between Woodward and Binny Paul, the Campbell River Mirrorsa国际传媒檚 Local Journalism Initiative Reporter. Woodward is currently representing the Nuchatlaht First Nation, which has received a trial date of March 15, 2022 from the B.C. Supreme Court to proceed with its Aboriginal land title case. The Nuchatlaht case is significant as it could pave the way for other First Nations in B.C.
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The Nuchatlaht case is a direct application of the precedent-setting 2014 Tsilhqotsa国际传媒檌n decision, where the Supreme Court of Canada granted declaration of aboriginal title to more than 1,700 square kilometres of land in the Interior of British Columbia to the First Nation. Woodward was the lawyer for Tsilhqotsa国际传媒檌n Nation too.
In his March 18 presentation, Woodward said the change in ownership of large chunks of land in B.C. from Crown sa国际传媒� or public sa国际传媒� ownership to Indigenous ownership means that the land will be under local control. It wonsa国际传媒檛 be under the control of distant capitals sa国际传媒� like Victoria and Ottawa sa国际传媒� nor foreign corporate head offices.
sa国际传媒淯nfortunately, the history of British Columbia has been a history of resource giveaways so that now much of the forests of British Columbia are actually owned by corporations that are owned by foreigners,sa国际传媒� Woodward said, sa国际传媒渟o the province doesnsa国际传媒檛 belong to British Columbia now anyway.sa国际传媒�
But you can expect that to change and itsa国际传媒檚 going to be a sa国际传媒渂ig shock and a big surprise and a big adjustment for the system to get used to,sa国际传媒� Woodward said.
sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 going to be a different landlord,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 going to be a local landlord, not a foreign landlord.sa国际传媒�
Two conditions lead Woodward to the belief that that will be a good thing for the province: a traditional respect for land and the environment in First Nations culture and a legal obligation to protect it.
Traditionally speaking, you might say that First Nations are more likely to be better stewards of the land than in the present system where you have governments in Ottawa and Victoria that are somewhat remote from the local territory. But Woodward says First Nations are more respectful of the natural environment and the lands around, generally speaking, and have a natural inclination to be better stewards of the lands and resources.
sa国际传媒淐lose to the land, close to their resources,sa国际传媒� Woodward said.
Meanwhile, legally, precedent under Canadian law has established that there is an inherent limitation on Aboriginal title and that limit is that First Nations own the land but theysa国际传媒檙e not allowed to destroy it, Woodward said. Unlike the governments of both Canada and British Columbia which claim such a degree of ownership to the extent that it allows them to destroy land.
sa国际传媒淲hen First Nations do assume ownership of their land, they, unlike federal and provincial governments, are not allowed to destroy the fundamental economic value and productivity of the land,sa国际传媒� Woodward said, sa国际传媒渟o, theysa国际传媒檙e forced by our legal system to be good stewards.sa国际传媒�
Woodwardsa国际传媒檚 wide-ranging presentation touched on numerous other aspects of the Aboriginal rights and title question, including the precedent setting royal Proclamation of 1763 as well as the implications of the Indian Act, the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People and more.
editor@campbellrivermirror.com
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