Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. First Nation gets $147M from Ottawa for lost water rights 131 years ago

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 24 Jul, 2024 03:37 PM
  • B.C. First Nation gets $147M from Ottawa for lost water rights 131 years ago

The federal government has reached a $147-million settlement with a First Nation in British Columbia over a dispute about water rights that dates back to the late 1800s.

Members of the Esk'etemc First Nation in the Cariboo region began hand digging an irrigation ditch to their reserve with picks and shovels in the 1890s, but the government forced them to stop just a kilometre from their goal to access water for their reserve. 

In 1925, the water rights from the nearby Vert Lake were taken from the nation and granted to settlers of the area and the Esk'etemc didn't get water to its reserve #6. 

The nation filed a claim against the federal government with the Specific Claims Tribunal more than 20 years ago over the loss of the value of the land and the crops band members could have grown there. 

The nation says in a news release that it settled through negotiation for $147.6 million to compensate the Esk'etemc for the loss of water rights over 131 years. 

Esk'etemc Kukpi7, or chief, Fred Robbins says while the settlement is substantial, the impacts of generations of Esk'etemc who lived in poverty because of the water loss is also substantial. 

“This settlement will allow us to plan for a better future for our community, our children, our elders, and generations to come. It will give us a chance to heal and is a step toward reconciliation," Robbins says in a news release.  

MORE National ARTICLES

Vancouver port open to recommendations from TSB after seaplane-boat collision

Vancouver port open to recommendations from TSB after seaplane-boat collision
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority says it is "certainly possible" that rules surrounding seaplanes operating in the city's downtown harbour could change in light of an aircraft colliding with a pleasure boat on takeoff over the weekend.

Vancouver port open to recommendations from TSB after seaplane-boat collision

Canada, U.S. interest rate policies set to diverge

Canada, U.S. interest rate policies set to diverge
With monetary policy at the Bank of Canada and U.S. Federal Reserve on track to diverge, experts say it could set the Canadian dollar up for volatility down the road. If the Bank of Canada’s rate falls too far below the Fed’s, it could negatively affect the loonie, said Allan Small, senior investment adviser at IA Private Wealth.

Canada, U.S. interest rate policies set to diverge

Trudeau heads to Italy as shadows of war in Ukraine, Gaza loom over G7 summit

Trudeau heads to Italy as shadows of war in Ukraine, Gaza loom over G7 summit
The three-day summit kicks off on Thursday in Apulia, Italy, where leaders of the seven wealthy democratic nations are expected to discuss the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars, the energy transition, artificial intelligence, migration and collaboration with Africa.

Trudeau heads to Italy as shadows of war in Ukraine, Gaza loom over G7 summit

Environment Canada predicts warm summer across country, especially in East

Environment Canada predicts warm summer across country, especially in East
Environment Canada is predicting a warmer-than-usual summer across the entire country, with the greatest chance of high temperatures everywhere east of Manitoba. The government agency released maps Tuesday suggesting the chance of a hot summer is virtually 100 per cent almost everywhere east of the Ontario-Manitoba boundary.

Environment Canada predicts warm summer across country, especially in East

ATV crash in B.C. kills 15-year-old boy, passenger suffers minor injuries

ATV crash in B.C. kills 15-year-old boy, passenger suffers minor injuries
A 15-year-old has died when the all-terrain vehicle he was driving overturned near Barriere. Mounties say the crash north of Kamloops happened Sunday near the two-kilometre mark of the Darlington Creek Forest Service Road.

ATV crash in B.C. kills 15-year-old boy, passenger suffers minor injuries

Rescuers work overnight to save teen and his dog after fall down B.C. embankment

Rescuers work overnight to save teen and his dog after fall down B.C. embankment
First responders in southeastern British Columbia say a teen and his dog have been rescued after falling "several hundred feet" down an embankment. A statement from the Regional District of East Kootenay says the pair suffered a "harrowing fall" near the community of  Elko, and search and rescue teams worked until around 4 a.m. Tuesday morning to get them up safely.

Rescuers work overnight to save teen and his dog after fall down B.C. embankment