Cheers to Nanoose for standing ground

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Windspeaker is honored to present the following Cheers and Jeers to the people and organizations who have made either outstanding contributions to Native-Business relations these past few weeks or have shown absolute and utter disdain for the efforts of Native groups in the protection of their people, past and present.

Cheers to B.C. Supreme Court Judge R. Hutchison who ruled against housing developer Intrawest this week and quashed permits to build condominium houses on a Native burial site 125 kilometres north of Victoria. The judge accused the province of playing dirty pool in issuing the permits because they were in direct violation of the province's own Heritage Conservation Act. Hutchison wasn't about to let the province bulldoze over the rights of the Nanoose First Nation who brought the action against the corporation.

Jeers to the province for proving, once again, that when it comes to respecting the rights of others, there is one set of rules for dealing with Native concerns and another for dealing with anyone else.

Cheers to the Nanoose First Nation for putting up the fight and for not letting the campaign to increase the awareness about burial sites end with the win. Aboriginal burial grounds are not protected under treaty agreements. The federal government should move to ensure such protection.

Carpetbagger: "any person, especially a politician, who takes up residence in a place in order to seek special advantages for himself." At least that's how the Random House College Dictionary describes the word, and by all accounts it could fit the description of almost anyone who wants to make a quick buck.

In the case of the Penticton Band, it's a word used to describe the principal owners of Apex Resort Corporation who propose an expansion of the Apex Ski Resort. It's just one of the nasty things one side in a dispute says against the other when an impasse has been met, and negotiation seems a lifetime away. Apex Resort had responded by calling the Penticton Indian Band's blockade of the road leading to the resort an act of "terrorism" and a "hostage situation". So the name calling isn't limited to one side. It never is.

Jeers turn into reserved Cheers for Apex for finally seeing the value in negotiating a settlement in the dispute. After all, the Penticton's Band's wish to have an environmental assessment study conducted on the project is not an unreasonable one.

While Apex hopes to carve some profit out of the mountainside, the band would be acting irresponsibility if it did not insist on knowing what impact the project will have on those who live in its shadow. Making money isn't a bad thing, but how much will that money cost the people over the long haul?

If Apex is truly interested in the long-term development and health of the resort, this would be a consideration for them as well. If the corporation plans to be a permanent member of the community it would endeavor to alleviate the fears of the neighbors in a true spirit of co-operation and corporate responsibility. Is Apex a carpetbagger or a community partner? Only time will tell.

In this same story, a final cheer goes out to manager Gregory Lang of Nickel Plate Mines who saw fit to stick his neck out and his nose into Apex/Penticton Band business. Lang urged Apex to get back to the negotiation table. He pointed out the band understand only too wells its obligation to protect the environment in which the people live, and takes it responsibility very seriously.