The B.C. government and the shíshálh Nation have announced changes to a contentious dock management plan for the Sunshine Coast.
The province released a draft of the plan in November, leading to intense debate in the community, particularly among residents with waterfront property.
The province has said the purpose of the proposed changes is to reduce impacts on the marine ecosystem and archeological sites while advancing collaborative resource management with the nation.
Opponents raised concerns that the plan as originally written would force them to tear out existing docks and boathouses while giving the nation a veto on future construction.
The province received more than 1,700 comments on the plan, and on Thursday said it was making significant changes to address concerns.
“This is about more than co-governing, it’s about governing period, listening to people, incorporating ideas and coming to an agreement we can work on together,” said Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Nathan Cullen.
Under changes to the plan, owners of existing saltwater docks and boathouses will be able to apply to renew their tenure, while those with untenured structures will also be able to apply for tenure under “flexible guidelines.” The province says they will need to show “consistency” with the plan’s goals over time as they improve and maintain the facilities.
Application of the dock plan to freshwater structures will be paused pending further studies and consultation.
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The plan came to be following two decades of negotiations with the shíshálh Nation and following an agreement signed in 2015 with the previous BC Liberal government in 2015.
It also dovetails with the current government’s plans to harmonize provincial legislation with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
That work hit a recent speed bump amid controversy over the province’s now-paused proposed changes to the Land Act, which would allow the province to enter into land management agreements with First Nations.
Some Sunshine Coast residents worry the province wants to sign an agreement with the nation under those changes to give them a “veto” over waterfront management.
“This is about rights and titles and this is about the shíshálh Nation asserting their ownership or rights and title over the foreshore,” said Sean McAllister, director of the Pender Harbour and Area Residents’ Association. “This is basically a template for how B.C. wants to govern how land authorizations are going to be handled in the future.”
McAllister acknowledged the changes to the plan appear to have taken dock owers’ concerns into consideration.
But he said there is no guarantee that existing docks won’t be denied tenure in the future when their terms come up for renewal.
“I expect what will happen is the government will say or the shíshálh will say you are not compliant with the dock management plan, you’re going to have to rip it up and change it, which is exactly what they are doing now,” he said.
The shíshálh Nation, however, maintains the plan is solely focused on protecting the marine environment for future generations.
“It was never our intention to harm or try to limit what the residents in our swyia (territory) could do,” shíshálh Chief Ihe hiwus Joe said Thursday. “We weren’t trying to impact their lives or livelihoods, we are simply trying to ensure the areas around the docks are being addressed, and we are looking at how we can restore the impacts it has already created to the fish, the shellfish, the many different food sources that our ancestors have accessed in all of our areas, and we continue to do that.”
The revised plan has yet to be completed.
The province says it is striking an advisory group to further review the amendments, with members from the province, the shíshálh, local governments, local associations and residents.
The group is expected to meet for 60 days before the plan is finalized.
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