Hope Lompe
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter,
Gabriola Sounder
Gabriola Island played host to the Islands Trust Quarterly meeting last week, held at the Haven on Davis Rd over three days. On September 17, Trust Council invited Douglas S. White, special counsel on reconciliation to premier David Eby, to speak to Gabriolans and Trustees.
White is an award-winning lawyer and former Gabriola Island resident who served as chief of the Snuneymuxw First Nation from 2009 until 2014. He gave an address on the historical context of First Nations and local governmental relationships, and his vision for the path forward with Islands Trust.
Gabriola Trustee Susan Yates said, “the highlight for me of the September quarterly Trust Council meeting, held on Gabriola this past week, was a riveting address by former Snuneymuxw chief Douglas S.White, special counsel to the Premier on Indigenous Reconciliation. Thanks to my fellow Trustee Tobi Elliott, and Trust Programs staff, for arranging this memorable meeting.”
Following White’s speech, Islands Trustee for Gabriola Island Tobi Elliott presented White with a print of “Nuu Chah Nulth Gathers,” a water colour painting of Amphitrite Point in Ucluelet, B.C., by Stz’uminus artist Daniel Elliott, who lives in Snuneymuxw.
As Yates described, White focussed his talk on First Nations relationships and partnerships with all levels of government, and stressed that the work with local governments is the most important – notwithstanding treaty and other formal agreements with federal and provincial governments, it is at the local level where the best work happens – meeting face to face to establish good grounds for respect and understanding of how best to work with each other.
Yates said, “This is where aspiration becomes action!”
White began with a reflection and anecdote about his time as the Snuneymuxw First Nation chief, remarking the immediate disconnect between First Nations and local government when he came into the role.
At the time, a plan was in place for a new public water system that the First Nation would support the City of Nanaimo to deliver water to Cedar. The costly project, as it turned out, had no reciprocating benefit to the Nation.
Ultimately, an agreement was made to connect Snuneymuxw to a water main that had run right along the boundary of the reserve for two decades but did not provide water to them. White said he has immense respect for how the mayor at the time handled the situation.
“I wasn’t the chief of a First Nation in northern Manitoba, hundreds of kilometers from any water system, …I was the chief in one of the most highly urbanized parts of Canada, surrounded by the city of Nanaimo, with water mains running on the boundary,” said White.
“And yet, because of the patterns that have been imposed upon us by wrong ideas it was like we didn’t exist to each other.”
White discussed treaties and agreements spanning Canada’s history that influence the relationships between First Nations and local government, including the Islands Trust Act.
Yates said, “he spoke of partnerships offered 150 years ago, then deferred or abandoned in favour of more powerful negotiators who favoured the Crown (as it were). It is relevant today to understand that the Douglas Treaties were agreements of recognition of a way of life that was to be protected and guaranteed, based on principles of non-interference and continuity. But serious transgressions occurred as early as 1864, just 10 years after they were signed.
“The Constitutional recognition of major land claims occurred in the 1980s, but politicians did not do the work required of Section 35 and instead pushed this off to the courts, which resulted in many years of often bitter negotiations, because federal and provincial courts are not equipped to do the work of land title rights. Doug White pointedly stated that politicians must not avoid the negotiations necessary for decisions about rights and title over the land and waters of this country and province.
“In 2004, for example, the sometimes heart-rending stand-offs on forest roads in Haida Gwaii were a direct result of Indigenous rights handed over to one decision-maker: the Crown, or the courts, with a ‘duty to consult’ First Nations. The Haida people were in fact the missing and crucial component of that negotiation, and not just there to be consulted during or after colonial decisions were made.”
While White praised the 1974 Trust Act for being very progressive for its time, he noted that, like any piece of legislation, it is influenced by the time period it is in. Until 2021, First Nations were not anywhere to be found in the Act.
“There’s always a disconnect between what the law states and what is just and what is right,” said White.
“The law will always be behind where the people are. And so it’s very important for people, both official representatives and people that are engaged and …taking the steps, doing the things that you’re equipped with, in terms of the statutory tools that you have now.”
Yates said, “from 1974 when the Islands Trust was formed, until 2021, there was no consultation or quest for co-governance with First Nations in the Trust Area (31 Nations and Indigenous Governing Bodies at this time).
“Doug White pointed out that notwithstanding this bit of history, our [current] MLA Sheila Malcolmson made a profound difference, noting that she has built an enduring, respectful relationship with the Snuneymuxw First Nation since the 1990s, when Ms. Malcolmson was an Islands Trust elected representative, and then Chair of Trust Council. Sometimes the law is way behind where the people are, and working with each other on common ground is a mark of true progress.”
White was complimentary of the Islands Trust openness and willingness to learn, this transparency, and tolerance, a key piece to building relationships.
Yates said, “as for the structural changes we are looking for in the Islands Trust Act, in order to form better partnerships with First Nations across the Trust Area: ‘Come on province!’, he exclaimed. Protecting Environmentally Sensitive and Culturally Sensitive Areas is essential, and we can demonstrate with this work how partnerships are so important.”
In broader relationships between Indigenous and colonial governments, White reminded listeners of the existing framework UNDRIP [United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples] provides, endorsed by both Canada and B.C.
UNDRIP includes important and vital components to local governments’ relationship with Indigenous people, inducing duty to consult and free, prior and informed consent.
“UNDRIP is a very important statement of the minimum standards of the relationship between states and indigenous peoples on the planet,” said White.
He went on to say that UNDRIP outlines a basic statement of obligation for the crown to bring their laws in alignment with the standards of UNDRIP, and stresses this importance.
“Why is that important? Because, my God, almost the entire body of provincial statutory law was crafted with the basic idea that First Nations don’t matter, that rights don’t matter, that Aboriginal title doesn’t matter, that treaty rights don’t matter. And so it’s quite a distance we have to go from where we’re at to where we need to be,” said White.
The ended address with a call back and reflection from the 90s, when he stood in a room full of people with a “not in my back yard” mentality toward a small reserve being established on the island.
“I stood up and talked and addressed the crowd, and I said: ‘I want you all to know that while it feels like we don’t know each other …I want you to know that I’ve grown up with your kids,” he said.
“I named all my friends from Gabriola, and I said, I want you to know that we know each other now and that we’re living our lives together.”
White stayed behind after his address to answer questions and provide more context and encouragement to council members, some who eagerly suggested he could speak longer after realizing he was over time.
Douglas S. White, former Chief, Snuneymuxw First Nation, and current Special Counsel on Reconciliation to Premier David Eby, speaks to Island Trustees on Sept. 17. Photo courtesy Islands Trust.
Yates was part of that gathering saying, “he sat at our table, encouraging questions with his contagious smile and giving us confidence in our work.
“He noted that our new Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, Christine Boyle, is great to work with. I can attest that she is a joy to listen to when she speaks about issues that matter most in upholding civil democracy. Her work on Reconciliation with the City of Vancouver was admirable, and perhaps our next request for legislative reform (to her Ministry) should include First Nation partners. He delved into a pivotal bit of history which I think took most of us by surprise: the reason that Americans can ‘see’ sovereignty in First Nations is because they broke the bonds of a foreign sovereign over 200 years ago, while our Constitution still rests with the Crown in England! Doug White closed our ‘roundtable’ discussion by reminding us to complete the Reconciliation Action Plan, pursue more protocol agreements with the First Nations in the Trust Area, and maybe we could organize a summit of all 31 First Nations across the Trust Area….he did also tell us to be courageous! And, not to forget that co-governance will be stronger and more enduring.”
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