21 Terrace Review: —_ — Wednesay, August 13, 1986

4718 Park — open foundation.

3627 Kalum — A burned-out shell.

See story
“page 24 |

~ Crown lands fall under legal shadow |

- Future
government-owned land
in a massive area of
northwestern B.C. have
acquired a taint of
doubtful validity due to
a recent decision by the

sales of.

B.C, Supreme: Court. In
‘a ruling handed down
during mid-July, Justice
Lance Finch granted a
certificate of lis pendens
to’ the. Gitksan-Wet’su-
wet’an Tribal Council

for their half-million
hectare’ comprehensive
land claim.

by Michael Kelly 7

The lis pendens is a
legal method of giving

Japanese fishermen to visit

TERRACE —A local
holiday promotion
gtoup may have the
jump on the Tourism
B.C. organization.

Roy Greening, man-
ager of Skeena Holidays
Ltd., a company made
up of three individuals
who promote tourism in
the area, said a group of
21 fishermen from
Tokyo, Japan will be ar-
riving in Terrace Aug. 17
to test the local waters.

Greening pointed out
that there are approx-
imately 24 million sport
fishermen who belong to
clubs in Japan. Tourism
options that could be
promoted in the area
with the Japanese
clientele in mind are im-
mense, Greening noted.

He added that Skeena
Holidays is one of the
first organizations to
make inroads in Japan.
Tourism B.C. represen-
tatives have contacted
Skeena Holidays to in-
quire about their
methods of success.

Two leaders will ac-
company the Japanese

group. One of the
representatives, Tom
Murray, runs a whole-
sale sporting goods out-
fit in Vancouver and Jim
Murray is a_ liaison
representative with CP
Air.

Guests will be staying
at the Terrace Hotel and
local fishing guides will
be hired to take the
visitors out on rivers in
the area.

Guides will demon-
strate fishing techniques
at the mouth of the Cop-
per River on the Skeena
River and shopping for
appropriate tackle will
be done at Northwest
Sportsman.

A trip will be made to
Northern Light Studio
and the group will visit
the Thornhill Pub. After
a day of fishing on the
Skeena River the fisher-

men will be loaded onto
a bus and travel to the
gold fields where they
will pan for gold. A stop

. will also be made at he

lava beds and sightseeing
in the area will take
place. .

A farewell dinner will
be served at the Bavarian
Inn and awards given
out.. The group will
depart for Vancouver on
Thursday, Aug. 21.

Roy Greening, manager of Skeena Holidays Ltd, in Ter-
race,

notice to buyers of the

crown lands in question
that ownership of the
lands is in dispute and
that future court deci-
sions could overturn any
title transfers. The ruling
does not pertain to
privately owned land,

and it does not interfere’

with the granting of
leases for. purposes such
as mineral claims and
forestry licenses. “'

During a recent inter-
view Don Ryan, a lawyer
for the GitksanWet’—
suwet’an, outlined the

boundaries of the area

covered by the lis
pendens. They cover a
block from Legate
Creek, east of Terrace,
to Houston, and on a
north-south axis from
Spatsizi Park to QOotsa
Lake. This area, Ryan
said, constitutes the
hereditary lands. of the
Gitksan-Wet’suwet’an
which have been
alienated without com-
pensation. |

B.C. is unique among
Canadian provinces in
that it joined Confedera-

‘tion without having

made adequate provision
for Indian land reserves.

In other provinces native

land title is covered to a

greater or lesser extent

by treaties, but in 1871
the pressure for comple-
tion of the transcon-
tinental railway and a
series of changes in
federal government
power allowed B.C. to
join Canada with only !4

_ treaties on the books in-

volving the southern area
of Vancouver Island.
Since Confederation the
B.C. government has
consistently maintained
that it has no legal
obligation to restore lost
land to native people,
and in fact argued that
aboriginal title does not
exist in B.C. Aboriginal

title is recognized in the

Part II of the Canadian
Constitution and was
upheld by a 1973
Supreme Court decision,
but both Attorney
General Brian Smith and
B.C. Premier Bill
Vander Zalm have stated
that negotiations are. a
federal responsibility

and. that the. province.

will seek compensation
from the federal govern-
ment for any lands which
are returned to native
control.

Samuel Stevens, head
of the native law faculty
at UBC, stated in an in-.
terview that the absence
of treaties in B.C. could
eventually prove to be,a
legal advantage for
natives in comprehensive
land claim negotiations.
“Natives in B.C. have a
more | effective
argument,’’ he said.
‘*Whether the province is
responsible for compen-
sating Indians for lost
lands is still an open
question.” The recent lis
pendens decision, he
pointed out, is the first in
B.C. and its implications
are not yet entirely clear.
Stevens speculated that
the lis pendens could

-become a powerful lever

in forcing the provincial
government to negotiate,
but he added that
widespread use of the
regulation will probably
be limited because of the

enormous expenses in-

volved. Any band or
council seeking a lis
pendens must first in-
stitute a claims suit

against the provincial

government and obtain a
certificate of litigation,
Stevens said. As an ex-
ample he indicated the
Meares Island action,

which to date has cost-

the plaintiff more than a
million dollars with no
decision in sight.

Don Ryan argues that
the litigation process is a-

deliberate attempt to
bankrupt ©
organizations. through
repeated court pro-

-cedures. .“‘The cheapest-

way to settle this entire

‘matter for everyone .is’

through a constitutional
appeal, but they’re tak-
ing the hard way. The
strategy is to run us out

of resources, but in the.
end they’re going. to:
lose,” he said.
. Steve Mazur at the — |
Smithers branch of the

B.C. Ministry of Lands,
Parks and Housing
stated that his office has
received no specific in-
structions from Victoria
regarding ‘the lis
pendens, ‘‘At this point
it’s business as usual,’’
he said, “‘but we expect
further interpretation
next week as to exactly
what this is going to
mean for us.’? Mazur in-

dicated that the Lands.

ministry has an am-
bitious program for sell-
ing off crown lands in
the Gitksan claim area,
with dispositions plann-
ed for residential, recrea-

‘tional, agricultural and

industrial plots in the
vicinity of several ‘com-
munities in the region.
B.C.-Attorney General
Brian Smith announced
immediately after the
court decision that the
provincial government
will appeal the ruling,
but the event occurred
just two weeks before the

B.C. Social Credit.

leadership convention
and no action has been
taken to date. Premier
Bill Vander Zalm will be

‘making appointments

for his new cabinet
sometime this week, a
circumstance which will
probably further delay

any legal moves by the

government.

native |

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