The fallout from three Aboriginal rights agreements, signed last month between the federal government and the Musqueam First Nation, continued on Tuesday.
It was a hot topic in question period in the BC legislature.
“Yesterday in this House, the Minister of Indigenous Relations stood up and he said he had no idea about any agreement with the federal government and the Musqueam,” BC Conservative interim leader, Trevor Halford, said during question period.
“Worse than that, the premier of this province stood in front of the media with children all around him and he says, and I quote, ‘I can’t say whether or not at this stage whether any public service members have line of sighted to it. I certainly didn’t,’ end quote.”
On Monday, at a press conference announcing that B.C. is adopting permanent daylight saving time, Premier David Eby said, “I haven’t been briefed yet on the contents of the agreement; I look forward to learning more about what the federal government’s been doing here.”
The premier’s office later revealed that Eby was at the signing ceremony on Feb. 20, but was not given any details.
“You would think that the premier of this province would attend an event and have some idea what the event is about,” Halford said.
“But then to go before the province and say he had no idea. He actually sat front row at a signing ceremony and then said he was caught surprised, just like everybody else. I’m not buying it, and I don’t think the public are buying it.”
Eby said in question period that he had no briefings about the contents of the agreement or any heads up from the federal government.
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He said he received an invitation from Musqueam Chief Wayne Sparrow to attend the signing and that he regularly attends events with the Musqueam Indian Band because they do not have a local MLA who represents their interests.
“I was honoured and glad to be attending,” Eby said.
“I absolutely sat in the front row. I was glad to see the federal government working with the Musqueam people, but I didn’t know the content of the agreements until they were released publicly by the federal government. But I’m glad they have been released.
“I wish we had been briefed in advance because we would have been able to clarify some of the comments made by the official Opposition that this was a land grab, that people didn’t own their homes anymore in Metro Vancouver, all the kind of nonsense that they said.”
Late on Monday, the federal government released a copy of the Rights Recognition Agreement between them and the Musqueam Indian Band.
Sparrow said the three deals outline how the federal government will work in partnership with Musqueam on fisheries, stewardship and marine management.
They also establish a framework for future negotiations on issues, including rights and title.
Speaking with CKNW on Tuesday, Sparrow said it does not include private properties.
“How we move forward on third-party land, municipal land and everything is stuff that we still need to resolve, but we still have interest in title, but it’s not with individual homeowners, that’s what I’m saying,” he said.
Eby said that the work being done by the federal government is a positive thing.
“I’m hesitant to point the finger at the federal government about not bringing us in, because I know for our own government, we’re reflecting on how we can do a better job of bringing along key stakeholders in our own Indigenous work,” he said.
“This is challenging work when we sit down government to government, Hon. Speaker, but it’s important work, it’s crucial work, and up until very, very, recently, this was non-partisan work.”
Halford said it is hard to believe that Eby had no idea what was going on at the signing ceremony.
“Give me an absolute break, Mr. Speaker. We’re not buying that, neither is British Columbia,” he said.
“Either this is one of the highest levels of incompetency we’ve seen from this premiere, or even worse, he has chosen not to be up front in this House or outside of this House on important issues when it comes to First Nations deals. It’s that simple.”
Halford also asked Eby about DRIPA (Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act), which Eby said previously that the government would be amending, but not repealing.
“I look forward to tabling that in the house and we will ensure there is full opportunity to have debate and discussion about those amendments,” Eby said.
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