Tuesday February 28, 2012 (Vol. ol. 37 No. 17 17) 7)
V O I C E
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W H I T E
R O C K
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S O U T H
S U R R E Y
w w w. p e a c e a r c h n e w s . c o m
Journey of faith: Missionaries Joel Reimer and his wife, Avin, are packing their bags and heading to Cambodia in June to teach at a mission school and work with local youth. see page 111
Katzie eye Surrey land
Teachers, gov’t face off
Crown sale of land gets attention of First Nations
Class action
Jeff Nagel
Alex Browne
Black Press
Staff Reporter
The province has very little urban Crown land available to offer in treaty negotiations with First Nations to settle unresolved land claims in Metro Vancouver. So Finance Minister Kevin Falcon’s budget announcement last week that B.C. will raise money by selling off a 15-acre parcel of surplus land in the middle of Surrey has raised eyebrows among treatynegotiation observers. “It’s an interesting move on their part since Crown land is so scarce,” First Nations Summit spokesman Dan Smith said. “We’ll see whether or not this takes place.” Metro Vancouver has previously raised concern the province may – because it has so little property to negotiate with – raid more farmland in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) or even take from civic or regional parks to settle future treaties. Unlike ALR land turned over for the Tsawwassen Treaty, the vacant parcel in Surrey, near the northwest corner of 152 Street and Highway 10, is zoned for commercial/multifamily residential and surrounded by existing homes and businesses. The Katzie First Nation, based in Pitt Meadows, has signalled its interest in the Surrey property, which had once been considered a possible hospital site. “We have written a letter requesting consultation but there has been no formal consultation,” Katzie chief negotiator Debbie Miller said. “There are very few urban Crown land parcels within any area of Katzie traditional territory.” The Katzie are negotiating an agreement-in-principle and are in talks with the province over what lands would become Katzie treaty land. The traditional territory over which the Katzie claim aboriginal rights and title covers all of Surrey, White Rock, Delta and Pitt Meadows, as well as much of Maple see page 4
Teachers across B.C. were predicted to vote today and tomorrow on whether the current ‘teachonly’ job action will be ramped up to a full-scale walkout. Meanwhile, a rally of Surrey Teachers’ Association members Monday afternoon was one of the highest profile events in a province-wide ‘day of action’ by teachers resisting imposition of a legislated contract – which Education Minister George Abbott has announced will be introduced this week. Speakers at the rally, at the Cloverdale Agriplex, included BC Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair, BC Teachers’ Federation president Susan Lambert and Surrey Teachers’ Association president Denise Moffat. In a statement released before the rally, Moffat said the B.C. Supreme Court had ruled last April that the government had “acted illegally and unconstitutionally when it imposed legislation that stripped out negotiated language from (the) teachers’ collective agreement” 10 years ago. “Now, Minister Abbott says his government will legislate again,” Moffat said. “When will they learn?” In a statement issued on the weekend, Abbott said the union has the right to canvass its members on whether to escalate strike action. “However, it is clear that this strike is hurting students and any escalation in strike action will only increase the harm to students and the impact on parents,” he said, adding the government’s legislation is aimed at providing all parties with “certainty.” “The NDP opposition’s response to (the) legislation will determine how much certainty is possible in the days ahead.” B.C.’s 41,000 teachers have been without a contract since June 30. see page 2
Boaz Joseph photo
Attendees at a Surrey Teachers’ Association rally arrive at Cloverdale Agriplex Monday afternoon.
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