B.C. Chiefs 'alarmed' by federal and B.C. government's role in First Nations dispute

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, arrives for a news conference with Indigenous leaders and politicians opposed to the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, in Vancouver, B.C., on Monday April 16, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs says the federal and provincial governments are wrongfully choosing sides in a land title dispute between two First Nations.

The union says it's "alarmed" that B.C. and Canada are supporting the Nisga'a Nation's bid to be added as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by the Gitanyow Nation seeking Aboriginal rights and title over a 6,200-square-kilometre area in northwestern B.C.

The Nisga'a Nation says the area claimed by the Gitanyow overlaps with its treaty lands, but both the B.C. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal denied the Nisga'a bid.

The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs says the Nisga'a Nation is now seeking leave to appeal in the Supreme Court of Canada with the support of the federal and B.C. governments.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip says the governments' support of the Nisga'a's legal move signals to other First Nations that treaty rights are more important than unresolved rights and title claims like the Gitanyow's.

The union is expressing "shock and concern" at the Crown's support of the Nisga'a, which it says has "huge implications" and will tie up the case in the courts for longer and increase litigation costs for the Gitanyow.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 28, 2024.