According to Mayor Jack Mussallem, the upcoming lawsuit by the Kitkatla First Nation against the City of Prince Rupert could end up costing the city anywhere from $775,000 to $1-Million in legal fees.
The lawsuit is over whether or not the City of Prince Rupert has a duty to consult the Kitkatla First Nation before being able to do anything with the Watson Island property the city has been trying to see used for the past couple years.
“It’s Kitkatla saying that they believe - even though there’s no legislation for it and no case law about it - the city, because as a municipality we’re a product provincial legislation, has a duty to consult just like the provincial and federal governments do,” said Mussallem.
According to the mayor, no out-of-court negotiations have been taking place, so the issue will end up before a judge. That legal proceeding, plus a possible appeal, could cost the City a million dollars. When asked where the city would be able to get that amount of money, Mussallem said it would just have to be added into the new municipal budget.
The mayor says that a ruling in favour of Kitkatla would set a legal precedent that could have ramifications not just for every municipality in BC, but across Canada. He says it would seriously hamper a municipality’s ability to use the property it owns inside a First Nation’s traditional territory.
“It would require all municipalities to consult with aboriginal bands adjacent to their communities before doing anything. All of the sudden, if we wanted to make a modification to a piece of property, say a police detachment, fire hall, library, or performing arts centre there would be this duty to consult. We don’t believe that anybody has the ability to require us to consult,” says Mussallem.
Early this month, the Lax Kwa’alaams First Nation - which is part of a partnership with Metlakatla that is looking into buying the Watson Island property – became involved in the lawsuit to dispute Kitkatla’s territorial claim to the island.
The Kitkatla First Nation could not be reached for comment before this story had to go to press.