First Nations and federal government collaborate on B.C. north coast protections
PRINCE RUPERT, B.C. — A new federal framework giving Indigenous communities a partnership in protecting and supervising Canada’s north and central Pacific coast is a positive step toward reconciliation, the president of the Coastal First Nations says.
Marilyn Slett, who is also chief of the Heiltsuk First Nation in B.C., says the framework announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday will formalize a conservation role that Indigenous communities have been filling for millenniums.
In 2016, the Heiltsuk First Nation responded when the Nathan E. Stewart tugboat ran aground near Bella Bella, spilling thousands of litres of fuel into same area where the community gathers much of its food.
“Our communities are the first responders, we’re out there regardless. But what we’ve noticed, and certainly with the Nathan E. Stewart, in our experience there hasn’t been a formal role around marine response,” Slett said.