Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, President Alsop. It's a pleasure to have you here once again.
We have heard from many witnesses at committee about how important economic reconciliation is to reconciliation. I'm just going to reference an article from The Globe and Mail first, and then I'll ask you my question.
The article is titled “B.C. formally recognizes Haida Nation’s Aboriginal title to Haida Gwaii”. It says:
The agreement includes a commitment from the Haida to leave privately owned lands unchanged and under B.C. authority. Governance over the existing Crown land tenures and protected areas will now be negotiated in a process that must reconcile Haida and provincial law.
It also says:
The agreement, which has been approved by the Haida Nation and will be enshrined in provincial legislation, says that Aboriginal title will not affect anyone's private property, nor local government jurisdiction and bylaws on Haida Gwaii. It also says public services including highways, airports, ferry terminals, health care and schools will not be affected. Residents will continue to receive municipal services and pay property taxes in the same way they do today.
I have two more paragraphs.
A leading expert in Indigenous law in Canada, Thomas Isaac of Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, said the agreement creates more confusion for landowners on Haida Gwaii than the lingering uncertainty of the pending title case.
“The Crown is recognizing Aboriginal title over every square inch of Haida Gwaii. What we know from Supreme Court of Canada case law is that Aboriginal title is the exclusive right to land. At the same time, fee simple, privately owned land is the exclusive right to land. You can't have two exclusive rights to a single part of land”
It's good to have you here again, Mr. President. You brought it up earlier to bring clarity to this agreement, and you can. Can you speak to private property owners' concerns that the Haida agreement has provisions that include a recognition of Haida title over fee simple lands?