Image
British Columbia, Canada and the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs have come to a draft arrangement on title and rights on the Wet’suwet’en Yintah (territory) during three days of talks in Smithers.
Hereditary Chief Woos described the discussions as “frank and substantive” guided by Wiggus (respect). The arrangement will go to the community for ratification before details are released, but it contains commitments to an expedited process to implement Wet'suwet'en rights and title.
The arrangement is forward looking, so does not deal with the issues that sparked emergency talks in the first place, the Coastal Gas Link pipeline that is set to go through Wet’suwet’en territory.
Woos said the hereditary chiefs remain opposed to the pipeline. Its construction, and the forced removal of Wet’suwet’en from their territory by RCMP, has given rise to Wet’suwet’en solidarity demonstrations across the country that shut down segments of Canada’s economy through blockades of rail traffic, ports and roadways.
The talks undertaken over the weekend focused on two separate topics that were discussed separately.
With respect to rights and title, the parties focused intensely on commitments to an expedited process to implement Wet'suwet'en rights and title, reads a press statement.
On the Coastal GasLink project, the parties engaged in direct discussions and explored means to come to a resolution. The province agreed to provide further information on the project. All parties at the table recognize that the differences relating to the CGL project remain.