By The Canadian Press

Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs leader blasts province at First Nations gathering

Sep 7, 2016 | 10:28 AM

VANCOUVER — An annual gathering of First Nations leaders and British Columbia cabinet ministers got off to a thorny start on Wednesday when the leader of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs berated the provincial government for its decisions on the environment and resource development.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip delivered a speech immediately after Aboriginal Relations Minister John Rustad at the opening of the meeting of dozens of aboriginal leaders and government officials in Vancouver.

Rustad touted the B.C. Liberal government’s work on First Nations issues, including its promise to establish bus service along the so-called Highway of Tears and a recently announced economic agreement with the B.C. Assembly of First Nations.

But Phillip, referring to Rustad’s speech, told the crowd that if it takes that many words to describe how well a relationship is working, then the relationship isn’t working at all.

He criticized Premier Christy Clark’s government for its decision to build the Site C dam in northern B.C. over the opposition of local First Nations, and said the last time aboriginal people had a responsive government was when Gordon Campbell was premier.

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Rustad was not immediately available to respond to Phillip’s comments, and federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and Clark were set to speak later Wednesday.

The Canadian Press