The Knowledge Totem pole carved by Coast Salish artist Cicero August and his sons Darrell and Doug August of the Cowichan Tribes stands tall on the front lawn of the legislature in Victoria on May 8.CHAD HIPOLITO/The Canadian Press
British Columbia’s legislature has adopted a Reconciliation Action Plan acknowledging racist and discriminatory actions of the Legislative Assembly in the past, and promising an apology to Indigenous peoples for the harms that have been inflicted by law makers.
The event to mark the plan – the first of its kind in Canada – was hosted this week by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Raj Chouhan, and was attended by a large cast of the province’s top Indigenous leaders. But it was marred by the last-minute retreat by two opposition parties that refused to participate in the event – the latest sign that B.C.’s efforts to advance reconciliation are faltering, as once-undivided political support crumbles.
In 2019, the B.C. legislature unanimously approved the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, which promises to ensure all provincial laws and policies align with internationally recognized human rights of Indigenous people, a law that was hailed as a landmark for reconciliation in Canada.
But a series of concrete measures this spring have tested that support. The New Democratic Party government introduced changes to the Land Act that would have allowed joint decision-making with Indigenous communities about public land. The bill was scrapped in response to a backlash from landowners and the opposition over the lack of public consultation.
Next, the government introduced legislation that accepted that the Haida Nation has Aboriginal title to all one million hectares of the islands of Haida Gwaii. Once again, the legislature’s two right-of-centre parties objected to the unprecedented law, which they say raises concerns for the rights of private property owners.
The legislature’s Reconciliation Action Plan, which took one year to craft, promises to ensure more Indigenous culture is reflected in the buildings and proceedings. As well, a monument will be built on the legislature grounds in recognition of residential school survivors.
The plan was drafted in consultation with a panel of First Nations advisers, and all four of the parties with standing in the legislature participated in the drafting through the Legislative Assembly Management Committee, or LAMC. Their work was based on a research project that catalogued hundreds of examples of the legislature’s treatment of Indigenous peoples in its first 100 years, going back to 1872, including appropriation of lands, prohibition of the potlatch and denial of voting rights.
On Tuesday, members of LAMC were asked to formally adopt the plan. At this point, the invitations for the Wednesday program to mark the plan had already been delivered, with guests coming from across the province. But Todd Stone, the BC United House Leader, told the committee he was concerned there hadn’t been enough consultation.
“We just don’t think that enough, and certainly broadly enough, engagement and consultation has been done,” he said.
Green Party House Leader Adam Olsen, a member of Tsartlip First Nation, denounced Mr. Stone, saying all parties had indicated support for the action plan – until some abruptly developed “cold feet” for reconciliation.
“I think what we’re witnessing here today – and I just want to put a bookmark in it – is a case study in exactly how we got to where we are today in this province. It’s always a better time to apologize to First Nations people later,” Mr. Olsen told the committee.
Also in that meeting, the non-partisan Clerk of the House, Kate Ryan-Lloyd, said she believed that all parties had agreed to participate in the event.
“We had the understanding that all members would want to be a part of that. We thought we had that support,” she said.
The plan was introduced on Wednesday at a gathering of elders, elected and hereditary chiefs, in the legislature’s Hall of Honour. Premier David Eby and Green Leader Sonia Furstenau attended, but BC United Leader Kevin Falcon and Conservative Leader John Rustad did not.
Cheryl Casimer of the First Nations Summit political executive took her moment at the podium to call out the absent leaders.
“I ask party leaders Falcon and Rustad, tell me why you don’t support a Reconciliation Action Plan, when it is clearly needed, and why are you not here? This House, this institution that you are a part of, is responsible for creating racist colonial laws that tried to destroy us,” she said.
“Reconciliation isn’t about making each other feel good. That comes later. That comes after the hard work and the heavy lifting is done.”
Mr. Rustad said in an interview Friday that he opposes the action plan because “it makes no sense” for the legislature, as an entity, to apologize for the actions of individual politicians. He added that the government, through the Haida title agreement and the proposed Land Act changes, is undermining reconciliation.
“What we’re seeing from this government and the actions taken is actually creating friction and problems in our society.”
Michael Lee, BC United’s critic for Indigenous affairs, said in an interview that the NDP is moving too quickly to bring the public along.
“This is not the time, in the dying days of the legislative session and on the eve of the election, to be having those types of decisions being made,” he said. “And that’s the reason why we did not participate in the ceremony.”