Open letter to B.C. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Blair Lekstrom:
One can only hope that the selection of alternate land involved in the land swap with the Westbank First Nation will be much more reasoned and more equitable than in the first round of negotiations.
The purpose of this letter is to redirect your attention to the idea of an equitable land swap in place of the original plan, one which should and must be at the core of any subsequent agreement.
After all, you, as the minister responsible, are charged with preserving insofar as is possible, the assets of our province, which precludes the idea of largesse in the upcoming transaction as opposed to the earlier one.
In round numbers, $27 million of B.C.’s land in exchange for $6 million of the WFN’s land as was originally proposed just did not stand out as being at all equitable, not even considering the threat to the ecosystem.
If the WFN land was independently evaluated at $6 million then the equivalent land to be offered in exchange should also be independently evaluated at $6 million. Such a swap then can be seen to be equitable. End of discussion.
Notwithstanding that, it must be noted here that Chief Robert Louie has already made public his thoughts of achieving an even better deal, that of even more land to be ceded by the B.C. government.
This time around, there should be recognition of not only ecologically sensitive factors but strong sentiment and determination to settle for $6 million of value in provincial land. That is paramount and defensible to the end.
Provincial land that is absorbed by First Nations can no longer be utilized and enjoyed by the Canadian public at large.
Trusting that you, sir, having identified the need for meaningful deliberations, will this time provide seats around a bargaining table large enough for all stakeholders, bearing in mind the need for an equitable swap before attempting to settle on alternative land.
Ronald W. Haslock,
West Kelowna
