JOHNSON – Response to MLA Todd Stone on changes to the B.C. Land Act

MR. TODD STONE (MLA Kamloops-South Thompson) recently wrote a piece published on this Armchair Mayor news site with the headline,  NDP’s Land Act changes will give de-facto veto to First Nations.

If you haven’t read it yet, I recommend reading that first.

Wow … dude … harsh. “Public land belongs to the public” … he says. Sure, unless it doesn’t.

After literally decades of work surrounding Truth and Reconciliation, and the creation of both politician and citizen learned language around recognition of First Nations rights over their own land, including previous BC Liberal Governments’ seeming pro-First Nations focus on the issues regarding the subject, apparently … it was all just a sham.

Even though Mr. Stone in the article says:

“… the blame for this mess lies with David Eby and the NDP, not First Nations who are simply doing the important work of acting in the best interests of their communities. BC United remains committed to meaningful reconciliation and true partnerships that will create more economic opportunities for First Nations.”,

In his first breath.

He then argues for wrenching all decision power as to what can be done and not done on their land … away from First Nations themselves … in fact arguing that the B.C. government must maintain overriding decision-making capabilities,

In his very next breath.

He is hiding behind the terms ‘public land’, ‘crown land’, ‘public interests’, when what he’s really saying is … sure … dole out First Nations platitudes, but continue using terms that continue to remove First Nations ownership from the conversation.

The idea is to continue with the long established and failed idea of ‘negotiating’ over each and every project that comes between government and First Nations, calling in the RCMP and the courts whenever needed, playing ball in the larger media soundscape … and taking advantage of the ambiguousness of actual legal land ownership, therefore continuously keep any overriding decision power away from First Nations peoples.

His intent with the article was to complain about the process that the BC NDP are using regarding land issues, but in doing so, he shows the same long history of the conservative colonial lie regarding the scam of ‘appearances’ to bring First Nations peoples into the conversation of land control … but smacks more so of ‘how to deal with the native question’.

From the First Nations perspective, there is no ‘crown land’, there is no ‘public land’ … it’s just their land, that is all. These are words that, when used today, are only repetitions of colonial absorption of what is not theirs to start with.

Mr. Stone … call it what it is for your party. BC United stands for colonial rule over B.C. First Nations peoples. Because that’s what you’re actually saying here.

Your party’s plan to retitle ‘crown land’ into ‘public land’ is a twist to try to find lingo that permanently separates First Nations from their legal argument of land ownership.  ‘Public land’ seems, on the surface, to include parks, highways, ecological reserves, and a whole raft of other uses, but interestingly it’s a term not used in B.C. jurisdiction to define land or land use categorization.  Alberta and other provinces use the term, but B.C. … not so much.

The BC United seem to be writing their own definition as to what ‘public land’ means, and if history show anything, a deep dive into reading this potential future legislation will likely show a huge lack of clarity, aimed to sidestep the First Nations request for autonomy over their land.

At the end of the day, this whole discussion is about First Nations long-time call for self determination over their own land and Mr. Stone’s piece actually sounds like the exact same cycling psychobabble of colonial domination that, as a country, most of us have wholesale discarded as completely inappropriate.

To the reader: literally read his piece again with this perspective in mind. The tenor and texture reeks of the same 1800s white political mentorship self-imposed dominance over ‘those Native people who need to be kept in line, we know better and must keep control’.

I’m not saying Mr. Stone is abjectly anti-modern relationship with First Nations people, and I am certainly not labelling him as prejudiced, but holy-moly … just read it again.  There really seems to be a disjointing misunderstanding of what he is actually calling for here.

If BC United policy is to disallow First Nations to actually be able to determine any activities on their own land … and yes … that really is a veto … then answer this: just what is self-determinate if you can’t say no?

If you can’t say no … it’s not yours … is it? ‘Meaningful reconciliation and true partnership” … suddenly becomes just noise.

Now, obviously what Mr. Stone is worried about, is that if First Nations peoples and leaders had veto carte blanche over any activity that occurred on their land, then the worry is that any future needed projects or infrastructure that the population of B.C. needs to satisfy its future requirements would invariably be impossible.

If ya can’t build a hydro project … ya run outa power. If ya can’t move gas or oil products to port, then yer economy … based on resources … won’t progress.

There’s a thousand other examples as to why turning land control over to First Nations will likely bite us in the end … that’s a real thing.

Our larger and personal economies would likely take a hit.

Our exports and future progression plans would take a hit, I myself would probably suffer some, compared to the lifestyle I lead now.  But … what did we expect?

This is the journey we have been on with our relationship with First Nations for a very, very long time now.  The entire time, they never wavered … it’s about the land, and only about the land.  Sure, we will talk about Res schools, water quality on reservations, health care and a long list of problems, but always at the top of the heap, and what all municipal, provincial or federal conversations always eventually turn to … is self governance over the land itself.

It’s all they really ever wanted.

And no … this doesn’t mean that all settler cities, town and communities have to be mowed down and either returned to nature or property gifted to First Nations, First Nations have never reasonably asked for that.

They have only really been talking about the 95% of the province no one outside of First Nations peoples live in, the vast stretches of wilderness.  It’s about pipelines, hydro, mining, aquaculture, forestry … and other industry related projects that slam into the back country that they want a real, meaningful and lasting say as to what goes on and what does not.

We non-First Nations populations in every region of this province (or country for that matter) have always known that we need to come to grips with the reality that we are going to eventually have to let go of the sense, feeling and idea that B.C. is a land where we can do whatever we want … and if we are stopped by First Nations … no problem … just go to court and get an injunction.

We politically chime on about First Nations self-determination and land treaty sovereignty.
Isn’t it time we just stopped with the rhetoric … and tell our Mr. Stones … that it’s time we put our decisions where our mouth is, and just accept that it is inevitable.

First Nations want, need and deserve autonomy over their land. Ya … that does means veto, and ya … that’s gonna hurt.

‘Meaningful reconciliation and true partnership” is becoming more and more full of colonialist holes, and just doesn’t cut it anymore.

David Johnson is a Kamloops resident, community volunteer and self described maven of all things Canadian.