1 4 window ment’s negotiations with ab-" = original groups.” wr lease \ * ~ + in 48-month walk away A6- The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, January 12, 2005 - Gov’t ordered to try again to reach By JEFF NAGEL ‘A JUDGE bas ordered. the | province to try again to cut _adeal with the Gitanyow to | make up for. the, transfer of ' Skeena Cellulose’ s forest li-,’ ‘cences in 2002. Although Skeena’s new owners failed to revive the sult and accommodate the band, B.C. Supreme Court .. company and placed itin.re-. _ceivership last fall, the prov- ince stil] has-a duty to con- - Justice David Tysoe. ruled” Dec. 30. That - duty has not. yet. @ , been ‘met, “he said, despite * lengthy. negotiations aimed at providing the Gilanyow: _ With cash and timber rights, , “I encourage: the parties to resume negotiations,” * he said. But he rejected the ab- original group’s call for oth- “ er measures, such as quash- ing. the licence transfer and _ barring Victoria from selling ~ timber from Gitanyow terri- ~ tory. It’s the second time Ty-: soe has sent both sides back -to the bargaining table. This time it carries. the added weight of November’s Su- _ preme Court of Canada rul-- ing that governments and native bands. must both ne- gotiate in good faith. * The Gitanyow: are one of the only holdout bands in the . northwest that have not yet agreed to accept one of the - province’s ° forestry agree- _ ments. - o. The ruling gives a rare into the govern- ‘Ine ‘April :2003, ° Says, Victoria’ was’. offering the Gitanyow $325, 000 per’ Tysoe «- n Glen Williams year in revenue sharing plus - _ 400,000 cubic metres of tim- _ ber over five years. By December of that year. “the offer was up to $340,000 _and 86, 000 cubit metres of | . timber per Years, But an impasse was * reached as the. forestry deal talks’ increasingly. became ‘intertwined with Gitanyow. treaty talks. And they hit another wall because the Gitanyow wouldn’t accept the prov- ince’s cookie cutter _for- . mula, from which Victoria wouldn't budge. That formula set'a cap of $500 per band member per year for the revenue sharing. ‘Based on the federal. gov- ernment's list of 680 band members, that amounted to the:$340,000 figure.” The Gitanyow argued the: . ‘money, should be based on. the volume ‘of timber har- vested on their térritory,, not _ the number of people. — But if they accepted a per... « capita formula, they said, it should - be baséd’ instead - on" the band’s own ally of. 2,500 Gitanyow — a figure that would boost the annual payment.to $1.25 million. « "By June of 2004, provin- cial negotiators proposed _that the deal be amended to use the number of Gitanyow who will be eligible for a _Weaty once éligibility proyi- ~sions are hammered out in treaty talks. . The judge Suggested rul- ing that provision be made retroactive. It’s not unrea- sonable, Tysoe ‘ruled, that the province doesn’t want to * deviate. too far from its for- mula. It’s also- reasonable, he suggested. for the Gitanyow to be compensated based on their true numbers rather - than Ottawa’s records. Also at issue, was not just how much timber the band would get but how valuable it was. - Gitanyow ‘leaders de- ..manded . 100,000 cubic me-: “tres per year, its location to - be decided in advance, rath- er than the province’s offer of 85,000 cubic metres to be | specified later. ‘The band also wants.a meaningful role in land-use . control . over large amounts of timber decision- making, that Skeena failed to cut, and provisions for replanting of logged-out areas. The dispute heated up last fall, when the province tried ‘to auction off timber cutting rights in Gitanyow territory and the band responded with newspaper ads warning po- tential bidders of the ‘legal cloud over the wood. Gitanyow chief negotia- . tor Glen Williams said the . ruling reinforces the band’s. message. to would- be Jog- v *For the 2005 Matrix FWD,.: Dealer may sell for less. y deposit required on signing. 7Je/km for Echo Hatchback Corolla o- curit , STIZ3M(A) Monthly Lease payments of $168 basedo offers are time limited and may change without notice. \ Total lease obligations are $12,630. Cash purchase price is $18,955. Lease payments are based on a maximum of 96,000 km over 48 months. If exceeded additional charges are | Ct Wy. Ny with $1,508 down, Total lease obligations are $9,572. Cash purchase price is $13,975. **For the 2035 Corolla CE, BR32EP(A) Monthly Lease payments of $199 based on 48-month walk away lease with $2,388 down. Total lease obligations are $11,940. Cash purchase price is $17,620:* and Matrix. License, insurance, and applicable taxes are extra. 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He said mectings between -provincial negotiators and the’ Gitanyow have resumed. ‘Harris said it makes sense to try toaccommodate the Gi- tanyow. not just for the 2002 licence transfer but also for the new ones expected under the New Skcena liquidation. “IT think. we both agrec already ‘what we'd like to do is craft a single agreement that not only covers the past SCI ~ transfer but what's going on today,” he said. He applauded Tysoe’s ruling. “I think he provided some pretty good guidance . onvhow to move it forward and find “solutions,” Harris said. ° He said there's s will on the Gitanyow side to find a» solution. “They want to get on with improving the lives 7 , Of the folks they represent,” he said. “They see economic development as the tool. to do that.” _ If further progress isn’t made the Gitanyow. can again ask=the judge to con- . “sider quashing the licence” transfers, re a acces 5 QP) TOYOTA ' A nicer way to buy a a Car. 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