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Latest park meant to thwart potential Imperial Metals mining project near Tofino
The Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation on Vancouver Island has used a unilateral tribal park declaration to try to control development on their traditional territories. The Tranquil Valley tribal park in Clayoquot Sound — where Imperial Metals is investigating the possibility of a mine — is the third tribal park the First Nation has declared.
The Tla-o-qui-aht has declared this territory, about 20 kilometres northeast of Tofino, off limits to mining activity after the province issued a gold exploration permit to the Vancouver-based company last summer.
While tribal parks have not been recognized by the province, Parks Canada worked with the Tla-o-qui-aht on a “tribal parks establishment project” in one of its declared parks in 2009.
The tribal parks are meant to create a management system to protect the land, but also create sustainable jobs. The Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation has done that, for example, with hatchery programs to improve fisheries, bear watching and run-of-the-river hydro projects.
The $15-million Canoe Creek Hydro is already operating, and a similar project is expected to begin soon.
But the Tal-o-qui-aht have also used the tribal park idea to push back on development such as jet boat-skiing on a lake near Tofino because it was not in keeping with their drinking water interests.
“We are kind of the founders of (tribal parks). It’s a unique model, articulating how we want to live,” Saya Masso, councillor and resource manager for the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, said Sunday.
The Tla-o-qui-aht, like most First Nations in B.C., have not resolved land claims. As a result, they have unceded aboriginal rights and title laid out in numerous court rulings.
“If there is one thing salient about all this is we just finished a tribal park planning unit that has jobs for 500 years, not 10 years of jobs and 500 years of impact,” said Masso. “That’s the premise: we are developing plans for our future. We regard fish as a value, the serenity of the area, and spiritual practices that we have to do.”
B.C. Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett said Sunday while there is no doubt First Nations have aboriginal rights when it comes to resource extraction, declaring a tribal park falls in a grey area.
And he noted the province’s existing laws allow companies to get exploration permits for mining.
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