The Lekstrom Report is out, advocating a temporary moratorium on industrial development in certain parts of the South Peace.
Recommendation four of the report says “Recognizing that it will take time to rebalance the Partnership Agreement and ensure the document can be more fully accepted and supported by the region, impose a temporary moratorium on Zones A2 and B3 until a comprehensive engagement process is complete and all possible options.”
Zones A2 and B3 are the largest swaths of land in the proposed Partnership Agreement, stretching from north of Mackenzie to Kakwa Provincial Park, on the Alberta boundary south of Tumbler Ridge
“It is clear that in order to move forward and find resolution to this issue, we must come together and agree to be more inclusive and transparent in the development of the solution,” writes Lekstrom. “We must work collaboratively for the benefit of not only the caribou but also, we must ensure in doing so we don’t negatively impact the First Nations and Non-First Nations communities of the region, the industry of the region, the user groups of the region and the people who call this region home.”
Lekstrom says that, while caribou recovery is a worthy goal, the way the BC Government has gone about it has been a mistake. “This is not to say that all of the parties involved intended for this to occur but rather they were all so focused on trying to achieve a workable document they overlooked the fact that a far broader engagement process was and is necessary. The omission of this broader engagement is what has led to the concerns about the Partnership Agreement and to a much lesser degree, the Section 11 agreement. All of this combined has led to a distrust of the parties to the agreement.”
As a result, his main recommendation is that the BC Government not move forward with the Partnership Agreement until “full and proper engagement has occurred” with Local Governments in the Peace Region, the District of Mackenzie, Industry, and Back Country user groups.
“Engagement must be done in a manner that is inclusive, transparent and be given the time to achieve public support.”
The temporary moratorium give the BC Government a year in which to conduct that engagement.
The Partnership Agreement and Species at Risk (SARA) Section 11 agreements were made public earlier this year. The Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Minister McKenna, declared that southern mountain caribou were facing an imminent threat based on scientific assessment.
“Although land management is a provincial responsibility, the federal government has a legal obligation under the Act, to ensure appropriate measures are taken to protect at-risk species,” writes Lekstrom. “The Minister is obligated under SARA to recommend to Cabinet an emergency protection order to respond to the imminent threat finding. If the province of British Columbia does not take adequate measures to protect southern mountain caribou, the federal government could issue an emergency order under SARA.”
This would, most agree, impose much harsher measures to protect the caribou. “An order by the federal Minister has the potential to sterilize a significant portion of the land base in northern BC in areas where the southern mountain caribou are,” writes Lekstrom. “As a result of this concern, the decision was made to move forward with the federal government, the provincial government and both West Moberly and Saulteau First Nations to develop the Partnership Agreement.”
However, under SARA, there is no need to look at the Socio-Economic impact the closures might cause. “I see this as a glaring omission of something that must be part of any solution moving forward. It may mean the need for an amendment to the Species at Risk Act to include such a section.”
Lekstrom says there was no Socio-Economic Impact data shared with the region before the announcement of the partnership, which lead to significant concerns with regard to the possibility of restricted access to areas of the back country, the possibility of job losses and possible industry shutdowns. “This reinforces the need to ensure a full and complete Socio- Economic impacts analysis is completed prior to moving forward with any such agreement.”
Lekstrom says that he believes that all participants in the Partnership Agreement—the Federal and Provincial governments, West Moberly First Nations and Saulteau First Nations—felt they were moving this important issue forward in a manner that was positive. “Unfortunately that was not the reality. By excluding the vast majority of those who live, work and recreate in the region, the process was headed for failure,” he writes. “There has been a feeling of broken trust and I hope to be able to present a path forward that helps rebuild that trust.”
In April, Premier John Horgan, aware of the issues the Partnership Agreement was causing, announced that his government was extending the engagement period by one month. “The main issue was how could a draft agreement on such an important issue have been developed over the previous 18 months, behind closed doors, at the exclusion of the 97 percent of residents who reside in the region but are not members of either West Moberly or Saulteau First Nations.”
This includes other First Nations like the McLeod Lake Indian Band and Lheidli-T’enneh First Nation, who, like others in the region, are upset at not being included in the discussions. “It appears not one of the parties thought it would be beneficial to reach out and be more inclusive of the regions remaining population,” writes Lekstrom.
McLeod Lake Indian Band and Lheidli-T’enneh expressed concern that these agreements would likely result in widespread adverse impacts on their treaty rights if the agreements were not amended following meaningful engagement and consultation, says Lekstrom. “They expressed concerns about a wide range of clauses in the agreements and felt that they lacked significant detail on critical matters and felt there was generally an offensive tone. Concern was also expressed about the failure to consider adverse socio-economic impacts which will result from these agreements.”
These concerns are echoed by many people in the region. “I accept that this was not done intentionally but this very omission is what has led us to where we find ourselves at with regard to these agreements. This in itself has led to a distrust of the agreements and in turn led to a region that has requested to be included moving forward in the redevelopment and rebalancing of the Partnership Agreement. The entire agreement and the process that led to its development has harmed our relationship with our First Nations neighbours in the region. Unfortunately, there have been racist comments that have emerged as a result of this agreement which have been directed at the First Nations and this is not acceptable by any standard.”
He says we must all work together to rebuild the trust and relationships “that our region has such a proud history of.”
The issue is not the caribou, he says. “All of the people I was able to engage with on this important issue shared a common interest in recovering the caribou and looking after and restoring the habitat in which they live. Not a single presentation to myself by local governments, industry, user groups or individuals expressed an opposing view.”
However, this goal must be balanced with regard to people’s livelihoods. “I am confident that through a more thorough and inclusive engagement process aimed at rebalancing this draft partnership agreement we can achieve the goal of caribou recovery and maintain a strong and vibrant region for those that choose to call this beautiful area home.
“With this as a common thread throughout the discussions, it became evident that the issue faced in the region was not one of should we work towards caribou recovery but rather the issue was the local governments in the region, the people of the region, the industry who operate in the region and the user groups in the region all felt passionately about the fact that they were excluded in the development of a plan to move this issue forward.”
While the government is “pressing the pause button” on the Partnership Agreement, they announced they are planning on signing the Section 11 Southern Mountain Caribou Bilateral Conservation Agreement. This agreement has proved far less controversial, establishing a framework for co-operation between Canada and B.C. to work collaboratively with Indigenous nations, local governments, industry and communities to develop caribou management plans for southern mountain caribou.
Caribou numbers in the central group of the southern mountain caribou population have faced serious declines in the past 20 years. Prohibiting new high-impact activities like forestry is required while public engagement, Indigenous consultation and negotiations on a long-term caribou management strategy are underway says the Government.
But what about the mines? Check out this Ridgelines exclusive map detailing the areas closed by the moratorium, and more importantly, the areas that are not.
