Squamish Nation members are set to go to the polls next week to ratify two measures that leaders say would give the nation greater control over land use and environmental protection on reserve lands.
The vote, which is set to take place on Thursday and Friday (April 7 and 8) in North Vancouver and Squamish, will determine the future of something called the Squamish Land Code and a "framework" agreement with the federal government that would make the Squamish chiefs and council, not the federal Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), the primary decision-maker when it comes to land use on reserve.
According to its website, the Squamish Nation is comprised of some 3,324 people, 2,239 of whom live on reserve, which encompasses 23 villages on parcels of land totaling 849 hectares in North Vancouver, Gibsons and Squamish.
Until 2000, all First Nation lands were controlled federally under the Indian Act. But in that year, the federal government made it possible through the Land Code Initiative and Framework Agreement process for First Nations to develop their own land-use planning and control functions.
According to a letter from Squamish Nation leaders to members, the Framework Agreement "is a government-to-government agreement that allows First Nations to resume and exercise their own jurisdiction, control and decision-making over reserve lands and resources."
The Framework Agreement, however, "is not a treaty and does not affect treaty or other constitutional rights of First Nations," according to an executive summary of the proposed agreement.
Chief Ian Campbell on Wednesday (March 30) said that together, the two measures aim to help the nation move away from what he called the "paternal structure" set out in the Indian Act and allow it to develop and implement its own set of tools for managing the use of reserve lands.
"It represents approximately 25 per cent of the relationship with the federal government," Campbell said. "It doesn't affect taxation, education, housing, some of those transfer dollars. That relationship would still remain in those other respects."
Campbell said Squamish Nation leaders have been developing the Squamish Land Code in consultation with membership over the past several years. He said it has been a good opportunity to engage members in a dialogue over present and future use of Squamish Nation lands - which includes several lucrative pieces of property including Park Royal South in West Vancouver.
While Squamish Nation members are exempt from paying taxes, non-members who lease Squamish Nation land have been taxed under the Indian Act since 1993, "generating several million dollars a year to programs and services for [the] membership," according to the letter from the chiefs and council.
Campbell, though, acknowledged that some members have concerns about how the Squamish Land Code might be applied.
In a recent article in the North Shore Outlook, Squamish Nation member Jo-Ann Nahanee Mazie Baker was quoted as having said that with the proposed code's expropriation rules, some are "terrified that once the land code comes in [Squamish Nation council] will take us and move us elsewhere so they can develop."
Campbell, though, said that under the code, expropriation would only happen for community works and purposes. Before land may be expropriated, a process that includes public input and consultation with affected parties would occur. As a last step, the parties would enter into negotiations for compensation, he said.
"There are safeguards in place to ensure that expropriation doesn't happen without a process," he said. "Really, that clause is there to protect our members and determine how those lands are to be used for a variety of purposes."
