The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations is calling on the province to halt Crown land sales, claiming it impacts First Nations ability to inherently hunt, fish and gather.
“First Nations people rely on access to Crown lands to hunt, fish, trap and gather, which are constitutionally protected Inherent and Treaty Rights” said FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron.
“When the Province sells Crown lands, it reduces the amount of land available for First Nations to exercise those protected rights. It also means our First Nations are left with the scraps of land that the Province couldn’t sell off when it comes time to settle First Nations land claims.”
The FSIN alleges that the province has not consulted them on Crown land sales which negatively effects their ability to fulfill Treaty Land Entitlement along with Specific Claim settlement agreements.
“Our Nations were promised when they settled their claims that the Province would make best efforts to make Crown land available to settle these long outstanding lawful obligations” explained FSIN Vice Chief Heather Bear.
“Now the Government is selling these lands without first giving First Nations the right to purchase. Fulfilling these agreements are critical to the long-term prosperity of these communities and now where are they supposed to get the lands to fulfill their settlement agreements?”
The FSIN said under a 1992 agreement, First Nations should be given priority on land sales.