Dave Mattes makes a critically important point in his recent letter on the proposed National Park and the role of local First Nations.
Local First Nation interests are and must be a key element in any decision respecting the proposed National Park.
But Dave overstates his argument. There is no legal principle which would trigger a transfer of the land to First Nations if the province were to decide to convey it to the Federal government for a National Park.
The recent Supreme Court of Canada decision in Tsilhqot’in is the first and only case in Canadian history in which an Aboriginal group has proven the continued and exclusive occupancy of a territory necessary to establish title and the right to require a transfer of the land. Absent their successfully pursuing a similar action, it does not give local Fist Nations a right to demand a transfer of lands.
Mattes cites the Haida Case which is relevant but for reasons other than he suggests.
Haida stands for the principle that any provincial decision with respect to lands within the asserted traditional territory of a First Nation triggers a right of that First Nation to be consulted. This includes, for example, a decision by the province to establish more provincially protected areas or to more intensively regulate existing protected areas as well as any decision to transfer lands to Parks Canada. But the Aboriginal right is no more than that – a right to be consulted – not a right to compel a transfer.
Both levels of government are fully cognizant of their obligations to local First Nations and have kept them fully involved in the National Park decision-making process.
In late 2012 after an extensive two year study of the park proposal, the Okanagan National Alliance, representing the 4 local First Nations potentially impacted by the proposal, recommended that negotiations with Parks Canada be resumed.
The current National Park proposal preserves the traditional hunting and cultural practices of First Nations within the park boundaries and, based on other recent precedents, our proposed National Park in the South Okanagan will very likely involve a co-management role for local First Nations.
Bottom line is that First Nations must be respected and accommodated in the decision-making process leading to a Nation Park. They are not an impediment to a National Park.
In fact, Aboriginal environmental values and their belief that they hold the lands in a sacred trust for future generations align strongly with the conservation objective of a National Park.
Albert Hudec, Oliver
