The Lil’wat Nation feels compelled to speak out against MLA Jordan Sturdy’s recent comments regarding Land Act amendments. While MLA Sturdy describes BC United’s approach to signing more than 700 agreements over 15 years, he fails to acknowledge the transactional nature of those agreements, the length of time and amount of resources required to negotiate these agreements (including 13 years for Whistler Blackcomb’s Master Development Agreement).
In addition to this, MLA Sturdy appears to be acknowledging that he has either changed his mind, or did not understand what he was voting for in 2019 when legislation adopting The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act was approved unanimously. Text from the legislature clearly spells out these implications.
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act requires the Government of British Columbia to ensure that provincial laws (both existing and future) are consistent with UNDRIP. The government must also, in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples, prepare and implement an action plan on how these changes will be achieved and prepare annual reports on the progress made toward implementing measures set out in the action plan. These reports must be provided to the Legislative Assembly and will therefore be public. The Act also enables the government to share statutory authority with Indigenous governing bodies by entering into decision-making agreements.
To advocate for status quo of tit for tat, transactional agreements that require decades and litigation to determine whether “Adequate Consultation” has occurred is not in line with the Final Report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, nor any understanding of Reconciliation. As an elected official, a resident in Lil’wat Territory and a neighbour, we would expect much better.
The Truth is clear and Call to Action 43 of the Report from the TRC reads:
We call upon federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to fully adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the framework for reconciliation.
After more than 20 years as an elected official with the Pemberton Valley Dyking District, the Village of Pemberton and the Province of BC, we invite MLA Sturdy to consider his legacy and decide if he wants to be on the right side of Truth and Reconciliation.
