Politicians in the Okanagan are saying the NDP did the right thing when it recently scrapped amendments to B.C.’s Land Act.
The decision occurred last Wednesday, just before last Thursday’s budget announcement, and it can be argued which of the two was bigger news.
The amendments would have, according to the provincial government, enabled “agreements with Indigenous governing bodies to share decision-making about public-land use.”
More information about the now-scrapped amendments is available online.
The government said the point of amending the Land Act was to bring it into conformity with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA).
However, the NDP claimed that the amendments wouldn’t lead to:
- Lead to broad, sweeping, or automatic changes.
- Provide a ‘veto’ to First Nations.
- Compel B.C. to enter into an agreement
Nathan Cullen, the minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, said the province had consulted with more than 650 representatives before scuttling those plans.
“In conversations with these groups, many were surprised to learn that the claims being made about the proposed legislation by some were not true and that there would be no impacts to tenures, renewals, private properties or access to Crown land,” Cullen said in a statement.
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“Some figures have gone to extremes to knowingly mislead the public about what the proposed legislation would do. They have sought to divide communities and spread hurt and distrust. They wish to cling to an approach that leads only to the division, court battles and uncertainty that have held us back.
According to BC United Party leader Kevin Falcon, the NDP was hoping the proposed amendments would “sneak through, force any groups that they’re consulting with to sign non-disclosure agreements and hope that the public doesn’t notice.”
Kelowna-Mission MLA Norm Letnick said the NDP’s ‘pause’ can be directly attributed to concerned stakeholders, the people of B.C. and proactive efforts from the BC United Party.
“However, let’s not be naïve,” Letnick told Global News. “The announcement does not mark the end of the NDP’s hidden agenda. In their own words, they plan to resume these changes at the next opportunity.”
And this from Penticton MLA Dan Ashton: “I just wish the government had been a lot more inclusive. They said they had taken it out for input, but I didn’t hear much of the input.”
Ashton continued, saying “I really wish they had been more inclusive to get more ideas from people on it. We have a huge opportunity coming forward, but we have to work on this together.”
One B.C. business group that was pleased with Wednesday’s decision was the Association of Mineral Exploration (AME).
In an email to Global News, AME president and CEO Keerit Jutla said while it supports the province’s commitment to Indigenous rights, “any changes made to the Land Act must be done in a way that bring stability and predictability to the mineral exploration industry.”
Jutla also said the group has expressed concerns about the amendments since the beginning.
“We know that our members also support (DRIPA), but the way the changes were introduced fostered an environment of distrust and uncertainty,” said Jutla.
“This is not an environment that is conducive to building partnerships and economic reconciliation.”
On the other side, B.C.’s First Nations Leadership Council panned the NDP’s decision.
A press release said the FNLC was “extremely disappointed with the decision to postpone the introduction of straightforward amendments to the Land Act that would remove barriers to commitments already made five years ago in the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.”
“We are absolutely disgusted that the opposition leaders of BC United and the B.C. Conservatives leveraged the proposed Land Act amendments as a shameless opportunity for partisan political gain,” said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip.
“Their electioneering was a coldly calculated decision to create a wedge issue despite knowing their statements were not factual, and that they would increase racist backlash towards Indigenous peoples. Indigenous rights are human rights and are not up for debate or referendum. We expect the full legislature to work together on an education campaign to this effect and work to fully implement the Declaration Act.”
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