Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

VANCOUVER - The Musqueam First Nation must be consulted before the federal government sells two multimillion-dollar buildings in downtown Vancouver, the Federal Court of Canada said in an order released Friday.

Justice Frederick Gibson issued an interlocutory injunction that prohibits the federal government from “transferring, selling or otherwise disposing of the properties” pending a formal hearing on the matter.

The buildings are located in an area the Musqueam band claims as part of its traditional territory. Lawyer Jim Reynolds, acting for the Musqueam, said the order was granted and the judge’s written reasons would follow later.

The Musqueam action began with an announcement earlier this year that the federal government intended to dispose of nine federal buildings across Canada, including the Sinclair Centre and another buildings on Burrard Street.

The buildings are located in the heart of downtown Vancouver and the property is worth many millions of dollars.
The sale of the nine buildings across the country is part of a $1.6-billion sale initiative the federal government is undertaking to sell off some real estate holdings.

Reynolds said the Musqueam was told that no final decisions had been made and that it would be consulted.
In August, said Reynolds, the band was told that the federal government felt it had adequately consulted with the First Nation and would proceed with the sale to Larco Investments Ltd.

“It wasn’t until Aug. 28 that the Musqueam were told the buildings could be sold as early as Oct. 1 or as late as Oct. 31,” said Reynolds.

The Musqueam didn’t agree that it had been adequately consulted “and as it turns out, neither did the judge,” said the lawyer.

The Federal Court decision has its roots in a Supreme Court of Canada decision that said the Haida Nation on the Queen Charlotte Islands must be consulted before decisions are made that affect its traditional territory.

“The Supreme Court of Canada in the Haida case spoke in terms of a spectrum from at one end deep consultation to the other end of basically advising the First Nation that the decision had been made,” said Reynolds.

The Federal Court said (the federal government) had not come up to the right standard “and you can’t sell the buildings until you have adequately consulted.”

The Musqueam issued a statement Friday.

“Our preferred option is to negotiate a reconciliation of the Crown’s rights and those of the Musqueam in our traditional territory. Unfortunately, in this case, the Crown’s refusal to have meaningful negotiations left us no alternative but to go again to court.

source: The Globe and Mail