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Article

27 Feb 2009

Author:
Justine Hunter, Globe & Mail [Canada]

Revoking a governor's Feb. 14 decree, B.C. moves to recognize native rights [Canada]

On Feb. 14, 1859, British Columbia's new governor, James Douglas, proclaimed that all the lands in British Columbia - and all minerals below the surface - belonged to the Crown... [British Columbia] Premier Gordon Campbell has pledged his support for a new law to enshrine aboriginal rights and title in law. With it, he hopes to create "partnerships and prosperity" through shared decision-making and revenue-sharing... "You can't undo history but you can rectify it," said Ed John, grand chief of the First Nations Summit. It is principled stuff, but it has generated high anxiety for the province's resource industry... Aboriginal leaders have produced a draft mining action plan [that states]..."For our continued survival, dignity and well-being...any and all development of our lands, territories and resources requires our free, prior and informed consent."... "We are all a little bit skeptical and a little bit worried," said Pierre Gratton, president of the Mining Association of B.C.