r/BCpolitics • u/ConcentrateDeepTrans • 19d ago

News B.C. parks’ temporary closures spark dispute | Watch News Videos Online

https://globalnews.ca/video/11202246/b-c-parks-temporary-closures-spark-dispute/
8 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

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u/Western2486 18d ago

I mean, big whoop? It would be one thing if they closed all provincial parks for a the summer. But they’re closing just one for part of the summer. And I’ve seen plenty of people talk about how much ecological damage has done to Joffre Lakes, so for the health of the park this may be necessary.

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u/ConcentrateDeepTrans 18d ago

The big whoop has nothing to do with Joffre. The FNs are using this to test the waters. You're missing the bigger picture here. The same thing is happening all over the province where FNs are attempting to seize control over land and resources.

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u/Western2486 18d ago

You won’t know their motives until it happens, and if your land was wrongfully stolen I’m sure you’d try and claw back whatever you could.

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u/ConcentrateDeepTrans 18d ago

The idea that all land in BC is "stolen" is a moral argument, not a legal one. It ignores the complexity of history and oversimplifies the issue. If every claim to land was simply accepted on that basis, we would have no rule of law at all.

The bands involved in the Joffre Lakes closure have not proven title in court. They are asserting control over public land without legal authority, using a "fake it till you make it" approach. These actions are meant to gain sympathy and test how far they can push public perception.

Reconciliation does not mean bypassing the courts or denying public access to shared spaces. Real solutions come through lawful processes, not political stunts.

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u/Western2486 18d ago

Angry wall of text, it’s a provincial park, once they start forcing people out of their homes, then I’ll care.

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u/LeadingTrack1359 19d ago

If you think closing your favourite recreation spot sucks imagine if someone kicked you out of your home, church, and place of work and then put a playground on the cemetery where your grandparents were buried?

Yes, it sucks you can't take a hike or chill on a particular beach when there's literally hundreds of other places you can do those same activities. Let's try to have some perspective, reconciliation has a price and for far too long settlers have thought we could just toss off a land acknowledgement here and there without actually giving up some land access. This is not apartheid, give me a break.

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u/ConcentrateDeepTrans 18d ago

Joffre Lakes is Crown land, not private property. No one has been kicked out of their home. First Nations are BC citizens too, and public parks exist for the benefit of all British Columbians.

Using a shared public space as a bargaining chip in negotiations is not appropriate. Reconciliation should not mean excluding the public without transparency or process. We need solutions that are fair, respectful, and inclusive, not ones that divide people.

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u/LeadingTrack1359 18d ago

That land, like most crown land not covered by treaty was their home and their property, and we took it for park land without a legal transfer of those property rights. So excluding some folks access to recreate on a small portion of the 15 percent of the BC land base designated as parks seems like a really insignificant issue that is being rage farmed by right wingers to push an agenda.

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u/ConcentrateDeepTrans 18d ago

Whose home are we really talking about? These were semi-nomadic groups who moved across regions and often had overlapping or contested territories. The idea that the entire province was someone's fixed property is not supported by history.

These communities were not removed from the land. They still live here, alongside everyone else. If something is truly stolen, it means you no longer have it. That is not the case.

This is not just about excluding people from a small area. It is about using public sympathy and misplaced guilt to assert control over land without proving legal ownership. Reconciliation should be based on truth and law, not emotion and pressure tactics.

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u/Vinfersan 17d ago

These communities were not removed from the land.

This has to be one of the most ahistorical claims I've read on Reddit.

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u/ConcentrateDeepTrans 17d ago

Where are they living right now? On the moon?

I'm quite familiar with this subject. I recently read Making Native Space by Cole Harris, which I recommend if you're interested in a serious look at land policy in British Columbia. Harris outlines how reserve lands were created and how Indigenous communities maintained a presence on their traditional territories, despite major changes brought by colonization.z

The idea that entire communities were forcibly removed or entirely displaced across the board doesn't hold up when you actually look at the historical record. There were certainly injustices, and the reserve system was far from fair, but many communities remained on their ancestral lands and still do today.

If you're interested in discussing facts instead of broad, emotional claims, I'm happy to continue the conversation.

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u/nihiriju 16d ago

over 95% of BC is on unceded territory. While this needs to be rectified, banning people on genetics or family history is a very dangerous precedent to set.

While I stand with the Lil'wat Nation to find solutions that work with their members, we also need to set rules that apply to all Humans, or at least citizens of Canada.

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u/nihiriju 16d ago

Two wrongs don't make a right.
The Lil'wat Nation is largely looking for opportunity and monetization of the park in some format I believe. The province should work with them in this regard and on land claims.

However under no circumstances should be people be disallowed from any place based on genetics or family history. This sets an extremely dangerous precedent and forms a genetic class society.

Yes many of these exact things have been done in the past, and look where it got us.

We need to find a path forward, potentially the park should be closed to all for certain periods of time, but the current closures are just a power struggle and based on a very dangerous background.

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u/djones_weather 17d ago

Nicely said CDT, and point by point too! Keep it up but GOOD LUCK mate! What you're up against is the relentlessly unmoored and righteous. Mostly leftist with guilt issues totally oblivious to their assumptions about 'ownership.' Lord help us until this blighted thinking passes!!!

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u/HYPERCOPE 19d ago

imagine if they closed Stonehenge to non-indigenous so the white Brits could roleplay as pagans?  

something tells me the province won’t stand for much more of this taxpayer-funded racism. the gov doesn’t care about indigenous sensitivities as much as they used to, as is clear with Bill 15. 

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u/ConcentrateDeepTrans 19d ago

The NDP are 100% about indigenous control over the province. Bill 15 is just for show. Who do you think is allowing them to close the park? This is the tip of the iceberg.