Today on the show I wade into the reconciliation discourse, because lately I’ve felt surrounded by it. Last August 7th the BC Supreme Court released its Cowichan Tribes decision, which recognized Cowichan Tribes' Aboriginal title to part of their traditional lands in Richmond. Some lands owned by the City of Richmond & the Federal government were declared invalid, and the decision also found that the granting of private property by the Crown on these lands unfairly infringed on the Cowichans' Aboriginal title, which was never extinguished.
The ruling said a lot more than that. It’s over 800 pages long. But the much shorter summaries that have typified most media coverage of the case have led to a lot of public anxiety that suddenly, private property might be under threat. This anxiety extends into pockets of the farming community.
My guest on this episode is George Abbott, who was an MLA for his Shuswap riding for seventeen years starting in 1996. He held multiple portfolios in Premier Gordon Campbell’s cabinet including Education, Health, Sustainable Resource Management, and Indigenous Relations. He went on to obtain a PhD in Political Studies, and he currently sits as the government-appointed commissioner at BC’s Treaty Commission.
He's also the author of Unceded: Understanding British Columbia’s Colonial Past and Why It Matters Now. George joined me via video conference a few days ago to offer his insights about private property concerns, and to talk about 160+ years of settler-indigenous relations in our province.
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To learn more about the Organic BC/SSMPA Grazing Workshop advertised at the head of this episode, click here or visit farminginbc.ca/grazing
Mentioned in this episode:
Feb 25 Grazing Workshop Info
To learn more about the Organic BC/SSMPA grazing workshop advertised at the top and bottom of this episode, visit farminginbc.ca/grazing
Feb 25 Grazing Workshop Info
To learn more about the Organic BC/SSMPA grazing workshop advertised at the top and bottom of this episode, visit farminginbc.ca/grazing
