Dear editor – Thank you for your front page coverage of the recent Supreme Court decision that dismissed the compensation claim from Teal Cedar on Haida Gwaii and upheld all the work done by the Haida Nation, the province of BC, our Haida Gwaii communities and many Haida Gwaii residents to create the Haida Gwaii Land Use Plan. It is a bit unfortunate that you were not able to seek out the opinions of some of the legal counsel involved or of the Haida Gwaii residents who were witnesses.
As one of those Haida Gwaii witnesses for the provincial government, I can offer my opinion. This is a powerful, unambiguous and really important judgement. It supports all the important work between 2000 and 2010 by many on Haida Gwaii as a part of recognizing title, enhancing good environmental stewardship, and supporting reconciliation though land use planning. The judge found that the process and the results were fully supported by the law. This should be rewarding for everyone involved and it provides the solid legal support and a platform to continue to move forward.
But the most important result is that the judge fully rejected the argument, referred to as “constructive expropriation”, put forward by Teal Cedar. This judgement sets precedent and allows other First Nations, other governments and other communities to move forward on a similar collaborative path to better forest management, reconciliation and co-management without the fear of legal challenges from opportunistic corporations who challenge this progress. Thanks to the very hard working legal counsel and all the people from Haida Gwaii who worked hard to make this outcome possible.
Keith Moore RPF
Daajing Giids
