1867 replies to this topic

[LJ]

A quick drive down west Saanich road makes it look like nearly every lot on the reserve is a dump…

That's how you recognize that you are on reserve land; they don't really need signs.

[Tony]

I do not notice when I am on reserve land when I get on the ferry from Vancouver.

[LJ]

I do not notice when I am on reserve land when I get on the ferry from Vancouver.

You won't notice it on the Pat Bay Highway either; you will notice it on West Saanich Road.

[phx]

The billboards are quite noticeable on the Pat Bay.

[Mike K.]

Heated moments in Kamloops. A fellow in a grey sweater can be seen exchanging words with people who appear to question the Kamloops’ body claims.

https://x.com/therea...LNt72cvXf0yWpgg

This is quite the situation now, with the nation pursuing land claims to the city and area.

[Victoria Watcher]

The Stk’emlupsemc of the Secwepemc Nation (SSN) claim, as it is known, has been slowly working its way through the court for years. But it’s back in the provincial spotlight after MLA Eleanore Sturko accused the provincial government of keeping British Columbians in the dark on the issue.

 

Sturko called on the province to be transparent with private property owners about ongoing litigation around Aboriginal title given the recent Cowichan ruling, and she referenced the SSN claim as an example.

 

Some First Nations leaders have said they believe reaction to the Cowichan decision has stoked "baseless fears."

 

Looking for clarification

 

The provincial and federal governments opposed the SSN claim shortly after it was filed.

 

At the time, the federal government said title could not be asserted without naming and notifying the tens of thousands of land owners captured in the claim — including every home and property owner in Kamloops and area.

 

The province, meanwhile, said in 2016 that it “vigorously opposed” the SSN claim due to its potential to create "uncertainty over the land base and for private property owners across this territory.”

 

Kamloops-Centre MLA Peter Milobar said there are plenty of people in his riding who would like to know whether that’s still the province’s position given a legal landscape that appears to be shifting.

 

"I have a lot of constituents that are already reaching out to my office and Ward’s office [Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer], and they legitimately want to know what’s going on,” Milobar told Castanet.

 

"We can’t answer that at this point, so we’re seeking clarification from the government as to whether they’ve changed their legal stance.”

 

Castanet has also asked the provincial Ministry of Attorney General whether Victoria's stance has changed over the years.

 

Milobar said he thinks property owners in and around Kamloops should be concerned.

 

“On the heels of the Cowichan ruling, absolutely,” he said. “In 2015, there hadn’t been rulings like the Cowichan decision, and that’s probably why it [the SSN claim] left people’s consciousness.”

 

 

https://www.castanet...loops-Sun-Peaks

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 November 2025 - 07:07 AM.

[Mike K.]

How many local mayors in the CRD are engaged with these land title issues, and have signed NDAs?

View Royal’s mayor has identified NDAs as a reason for his departure from politics, but he did not specify which or what they covered. I heard this weekend another local mayor in the CRD is involved with indigenous land issues and has signed an NDA.

[dasmo]

Didn’t Vic Council just enter a leadership agreement with the Songhees?

Remember MacDonald formed the entire country without involving the people that were living here. HSB sold him the land they didn’t own. That’s the foundation of our government, that’s the irony. Why would we think the government would treat us any differently?

[Victoria Watcher]

Remember MacDonald formed the entire country without involving the people that were living here. HSB sold him the land they didn’t own. 

 

How were all the other countries in the world formed?   By some type of democratic vote among the people living there?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 November 2025 - 07:43 AM.

[dasmo]

Conquest, genocide or treaty. Canada was formed by just ignoring them after a 150 year business partnership that had resulted in treaties with the Crown that predate the country. That we never left the Crown is another reason the above comment doesn’t excuse our situation. Blame MacDonald, not the people. Blame our present government, not the people.

[Mike K.]

And the same patterns of indignity to the Canadian people are happening now. Land deals behind closed doors, NDAs, upzoning without due process and what is also troubling is while we are distracted by MMHI or upzoning in established communities, governments continue to create new obstacles to developing land through an ever increasing web of bureaucracy and environmental limitation.

Take the ALC for example. It is unproductive land as farmland in so many cases, but still held in a special, ever more controlled framework that does not respond to the needs of the current population, and never did since inception. What is the purpose of allowing land that could have so much more value to a community, remain fallow and never to be farmed or used for agriculture?

[Matt R.]

Heated moments in Kamloops. A fellow in a grey sweater can be seen exchanging words with people who appear to question the Kamloops’ body claims.

https://x.com/therea...LNt72cvXf0yWpgg

This is quite the situation now, with the nation pursuing land claims to the city and area.

The guy in the green getting yelled at is Jim McMurty, he did indeed lose his job over this issue. He ran for the PPC in the last election. His dad was a big mucky muck in Ontario. MPP, AG, SG, high commissioner to the UK, etc.

[dasmo]

The guy in the green getting yelled at is Jim McMurty, he did indeed lose his job over this issue. He ran for the PPC in the last election. His dad was a big mucky muck in Ontario. MPP, AG, SG, high commissioner to the UK, etc.

Haha. "F**K you, you don't deserve a job. "The bodies" are a great distraction. Divide and distract. This is the trap. Put a lie out there so it triggers folks to point out the lie. Then shape that into denial of facts, of which there are plenty. Vilify that. Then anyone who points out the lie is a villain. But then what happens is those latching onto the lie also get swallowed up into total denial, especially through the alt media that also points out the lie. This draws you in, but then they just feed you other lies. It's the same formula as the MSM. A shred of truth to tell a lot of lies.  

 

These people fighting each other is something they do seem to get right though. Democide and division. 

[Fox]

The guy in the green getting yelled at is Jim McMurty, he did indeed lose his job over this issue. He ran for the PPC in the last election. His dad was a big mucky muck in Ontario. MPP, AG, SG, high commissioner to the UK, etc.

 

Thats quite the career path he took: https://safs.ca/news...school-teacher/

[Mike K.]

The guy in the green getting yelled at is Jim McMurty, he did indeed lose his job over this issue. He ran for the PPC in the last election. His dad was a big mucky muck in Ontario. MPP, AG, SG, high commissioner to the UK, etc.

Interesting.

Gotta stay calm and measured. The screaming kids won’t look back at this with pride, I don’t think.

[Matt R.]

No kids in this video, just adults yelling and pushing. Sweater guy has to be 35, no?

[Mike K.]

Acting 14, however.

[Matt R.]

Worse than.

[spanky123]

Heated moments in Kamloops. A fellow in a grey sweater can be seen exchanging words with people who appear to question the Kamloops’ body claims.

https://x.com/therea...LNt72cvXf0yWpgg

This is quite the situation now, with the nation pursuing land claims to the city and area.

 

Most FN leaders that I know are trying to moderate this issue. They understand that it is clearly against their best interests to pursue claims against privately owned property. I think they are hoping that the bluster is just to enhance their negotiating position on existing crown claims.

 

Like most causes though, there are always a few people who want to try and press their advantage as much as possible without any regard for the potential damage they will cause their broader community.

 

What will inevitably happen is that the pendulum of public opinion will swing hard right and FN will lose most of the gains they have earned over the past few decades.

 

Leaders should reel this in while they still have a chance.

[Victoria Watcher]

Like most causes though, there are always a few people who want to try and press their advantage as much as possible without any regard for the potential damage they will cause their broader community.

 

One could easily argue that in almost all FN communities, some of the powerful leaders always take this stance, and run their FN for personal gain, to the detriment of the wider FN community they lead.

 

There are 634 FN, and I'll venture no more than 2 or 3 (Fort McKay, maybe Osoyoos) have per-member average incomes higher than the Canadian average.

 

So you have 1 or 3 FN, then all of Canada, then 630 or so other nations.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 15 November 2025 - 11:03 AM.