On April 13 the Provincial Government and the Haida Nation announced the five-member council that will execute the shared land-use decision making outlined in the Kunst’aa guu - Kunst’aayah Reconciliation Protocol passed last June.
The council will be chaired by Derek Thompson, a former deputy-minister and current teacher at Royal Roads University.
Representatives from the Haida Nation include Allan Davidson, the Vancouver regional representative for the Council of the Haida Nation, and Trevor Russ, a representative of Old Massett on the Council of the Haida Nation.
Provincial representatives include Lindsay Jones, the director of the Coast Region in the Negotiations and Regional Operations Division with the B.C. Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, and Darrell Robb, director of the First Nations and Land Use Branch of the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
The appointments are for two years, and the chair will cast the deciding vote if a consensus can’t be reached.
“We have devised a practical way to work together in providing for the well-being of the lands. Having resolved many of the immediate conflicts; co-operation in planning and management will set the condition for a more orderly future,” said Haida Nation president Guujaaw.
“At the heart of the Kunst’aa guu - Kunst’aayah Reconciliation Protocol with the Haida Nation is an unprecedented model of strategic shared decision making that aims to find consensus on the land base. The provincial government’s participation in the Haida Gwaii Management Council is a critical and very practical demonstration of this government’s continuing commitment to reconciliation with the Haida Nation,” said Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Mary
Polak.