Pender Harbour Area Residents Association says the proposed changes to the dock management plan still don’t accommodate everyone.
Changes were made proposed last month by the province and the shishalh Nation to include advisory groups which are to oversee and review changes to the plan while protecting shishalh rights.
Director Sean McAllister says the public engagement sessions promised by the province were not done effectively to address residential needs, and all they want is a fair chance to have their voice heard.
“The government would not agree to anything without a safe environment, so we offered either a Zoom call or a webinar,” McAllister says. “They would only allow specific topics to be discussed and no other, so that has caused resident grief.”
McAllister says some of the key points PHARA wanted to discuss revolved around transparency and zoning in Pender Harbour, but they were ready to talk about topics they felt were relevant.
“They would only talk about the proposed amendments,” he adds. “We tried to get an outline to what amendments they would talk about after they came out, but they wouldn’t provide it, so they decided to go ahead without us.”
He says one of the biggest concerns across the region, he feels, is that the government and the shishalh Nation are trying to implement a section seven agreement under the Declaration of Rights on Indigenous Peoples Act to give the Nation power over crown land.
“It permits the government to enter into an agreement where they would delegate authority to the First Nations joint decision-making power over the use of crown land,” he adds. “this would give them the power to say no to anything on crown land and that would be the end of it.”
Minister of water, land and resource stewardship Nathan Cullen said in an earlier release, the province and the Nation are aware of concerns from residents and are working to accommodate everyone.
