ROBERT BARRON CITIZEN
The Cowichan Valley Regional District and the Lake Cowichan First Nation are developing ways to work together better.
The two organizations has recently reached an inaugural protocol framework agreement that will be signed in a ceremony on the First Nation reserve on Friday, April 29.
They have agreed to collaborate on economic development in a “mutually beneficial” way, according to officials at the regional district, and participate in local initiatives to protect and sustainably manage the resources within the Cowichan Lake watershed, among other issues.
Jon Lefebure, chairman of the board at the CVRD, said the LCFN is considering a number of developments on its land that could have some impacts on the district, and the band realizes, “as does the regional district”, the importance of “easy and positive” relationships with each other.
Aaron Hamilton, the operations manager for the First Nation, said details of the developments the LCFN are considering will be made public “in due time.”
“The CVRD, along with the Municipality of North Cowichan and the City of Duncan, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Cowichan Tribes about a decade ago, but this is the first agreement I’m aware of that has been signed between the CVRD and a First Nation since,” Lefebure said.
“The Lake Cowichan First Nation is an energetic band trying to move ahead economically and in other ways. As we move forward, this agreement calls for both the CVRD and the First Nation to talk about issues that impact us mutually and see where we can help each other.”
Lefebure said there are numerous First Nations in and around the CVRD, and the district is talking to at least one other, that he declined to name, at this time to set up a similar agreement.
But he said each First Nation has its own issues and aspirations, so each agreement that is reached will be “unique and individual” to the band. Hamilton said it’s “paramount” to both sides to be on the “same page” in future talks and negotiations on development, and other issues.
“The guidelines that we established in the protocol agreement as to how we treat each other are already in use,” he said.
Lefebure said he envisions that the next step would be to have a member from the LCFN as a full-voting member on the board of directors at the CVRD as a representative from the band, and eventually from the other First Nations in the region.
But he acknowledged that this could take some time to be realized because there are some legislative issues to be dealt with first.
“Currently, all the members of the board represent sections of the district that pay taxes for the various functions the district provides, and there’s no current framework for First Nations to be members of the board,” Lefebure said.
“But it has been done successfully in the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District so we’re interested in seeing if we can do it here as well.”
Hamilton said the LCFN are also interested in joining the board, but again “in due time.”
“We’re a small First Nation and we’re more interested in focusing on our own issues for now, but we do see the positive advantages for everyone if First Nations in this area were part of the board of directors at the CVRD,” he said.