'We have their attention': Joffre Lakes Park to reopen temporarily, B.C. First Nation's chief says

Joffre Lakes Park – where public access was shut down by two B.C. First Nations last week – will reopen over the Labour Day weekend.

Lil'wat First Nation chief Dean Nelson told CTV News the reopening will be temporary and that it is being done as a gesture of goodwill while conversations are ongoing with the province about how to protect privacy in the popular park for traditional harvesting and spiritual activities.

“We need to be heard. Now we have their attention,” Nelson told CTV News.

On Aug. 24, the Lil'wat and N’Quatqua First Nations, who call the park Pipi7iyekw and say they have occupied and used the land since time immemorial, announced the park's closure.

The announcement references a variety of legal grounds for asserting the nations' right to close the park, including the goals of the provincial park's Visitor Use Management Strategy and its Management Action Plan, as well as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Supreme Court of Canada's Tsilhqot'in decision affirming Indigenous land rights.

"In this time of reconciliation, Líl̓wat Nation and N'Quatqua First Nation are asserting our Title and Rights to our shared unceded territory to take this time to harvest and gather our resources within our territories," the joint statement from the two First Nations said.

For park users, the closure came as a surprise, and a steady stream of confused visitors could be seen arriving and departing the day after the announcement.

A handwritten sign explaining the situation was visible in the parking lot, and a table was set up near the trailhead with copies of the nations' joint statement on display. Caution tape covered the entrance to the trail, and uniformed staff told visitors what was going on.

The province also seemed to have been caught off guard, but said they would support the closure until Friday, Sept. 1, and that would-be campers or hikers with reservations would be refunded.

"My ministry is actively working with the Líl̓wat and N’Quatqua First Nations to find a solution that will provide space and privacy for cultural activities while ensuring public access to the park in a responsible and sustainable manner," Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement.

In recent years, Joffre Lakes has grown into one of B.C.'s best-known and most popular provincial parks, largely thanks to Instagram and other social media sites, where users have flocked to share photos of the lakes' turquoise-blue waters.

The park drew more than 196,000 visitors in 2019, a 222 per cent increase from the number who visited in 2010.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Joffre Lakes has been one of several popular parks subject to day pass requirements aimed at avoiding overcrowding.

CTV News has requested a response from the Environment Ministry about the temporary reopening and this story will be updated when one is received.