First Nation pushing for major role in managing Nanaimo Harbour
First Nation has allies in its bid for key role in managing harbour
The Snuneymuxw First Nation wants a key role in managing Nanaimo Harbour and is taking the call straight to the federal government, which committed Friday to improve on its partnerships with Aboriginal Peoples.
“The port authority model is fundamentally broken and unresponsive to the needs of our community,” Snuneymuxw Chief John Wesley said in a statement. “To be blunt, the legal structures upon which it is based come from another era — one that was not based on partnership, co-operation and the recognition of our rights.”
The First Nation wants the Nanaimo Port Authority to be dissolved and replaced by a nonprofit partnership, along the lines of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority.
The City of Nanaimo and Nanaimo Marine Association have both formally called for a review of the Nanaimo Port Authority, one of 18 federally owned ports. These operate at arms-length from the federal government and are governed by a board of directors.
Wesley sent a letter on July 5 to the federal ministers of transport, justice and Indigenous and northern affairs asking to discuss a new governance model for the port authority — one that would include a partnership among the First Nation, the city and user groups.
In the letter, Wesley notes that Snuneymuxw signed a pre-Confederation treaty ensuring their rights to “carry on our fisheries as formerly.” However, the First Nation has never had an integral or productive relationship with the port or its governing bodies.
“Snuneymuxw has not been part of the decision-making or part of any revenue sharing. The structure is dismissive of our rights,” said Douglas White, a councillor and chief negotiator for the First Nation.
Transport Canada acknowledged receiving the letter but told the Times Colonist: “While the department takes very seriously the views raised, there are no immediate plans to alter the current governance structure of the Nanaimo Port Authority.”
Bernie Dumas, president and chief executive of the Nanaimo Port Authority, said the organization has made efforts to include Snuneymuxw in decision-making, but added: “We don’t have the ability to be at the level of treaty rights.”
He said those matters are up to the federal government, as are calls for a change in the harbourgovernance model.
White said this is a crucial time for governments to act on promises to form partnerships with Indigenous Peoples on decisionmaking about resources such as the port.
He said both the federal and B.C. governments have committed to implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which calls for informed consent on resource management.
The B.C. New Democratic Party and Green Party incorporated this as part of their partnership agreement.
On Friday, the federal Department of Justice issued a statement committing to principles renewing nation-to-nation partnerships with Indigenous Peoples.
According to a statement, the principles include an aim to secure “their free, prior, and informed consent when Canada proposes to take actions which impact them and their rights, including their lands, territories and resources.”
The statement recognizes that the Supreme Court of Canada “confirmed that Aboriginal title gives the holder the right to use, control, and manage the land and the right to the economic benefits of the land and its resources.”
In 2014, a ruling involving the Tsilhqhot’in First Nation confirmed Aboriginal title to a large area of the B.C. under contention from First Nations opposed to third-party logging practices.
Odai Sirri, from the Nanaimo Marina Association, supports a stronger partnership with Snuneymuxw and a non-profit model of local governance of the harbour.
“We need a united, collaborative approach that respects local communities and First Nations,” he said. His organization, which says it represents more than 1,500 boaters, 10 marinas and local businesses, also called on the federal government to dissolve the Nanaimo Port Authority.
Sirri said businesses are failing and developers are avoiding projects at the harbour because of high costs, and noted a sharp increase in lease rates in 2012.
“This was a 400 per cent increase for some,” Sirri said, adding a marina that had operated for 40 years in the harbour went from a $16,000-a-year lease to $96,000 a year with no warning. “Businesses have gone under or sold, and this is jeopardizing the viability of all the businesses.”
Sirri said the port authority is lacking in vision and business planning, and gave the Nanaimo cruise-ship terminal as an example.
The $22-million terminal was completed in 2011, with a goal of attracting 30 ships a year to the city’s downtown harbour. So far, it has seen five to seven ships annually.
“This is a harbour city that relies on tourism, but it’s cost-prohibitive to do anything at the waterfront,” Sirri said. “Look at the Victoria Harbour and then look at the Nanaimo Harbour. It’s an apples-to-rancid-meat comparison.”
In April, Nanaimo councillors agreed to support the formation of a non-profit society to act as a waterfront steward.
The city, marine association and Snuneymuxw will go ahead with plans to develop a new harbour-governance model and have a public-dialogue session planned for September.