Mark Hume
Vancouver, B.C. — Globe and Mail update Published on Wednesday, Mar. 03, 2010 4:55PM EST Last updated on Thursday, Mar. 04, 2010 3:27AM EST
A road blockade by an Indian band fighting to stop a water development project on Vancouver Island has turned ugly, with racist graffiti scrawled across a building front and obscenities shouted at members of the Halalt First Nation.
Tyler George, a councillor with the Halalt band in Chemainus, said the RCMP was called after epithets were spray painted in large black letters on the front of the band's health office.
“We want this pursued as a hate-crime investigation,” said Mr. George, who helped organize a blockade by about 50 band members on Chemainus Road, which passes through the reserve, about 36 kilometres south of Nanaimo.
“The RCMP are here this morning and they have assured us they will investigate it,” he said.
Written on the front of the building are an obscenity, a racist word for aboriginals, and the phrase: “Get jobs natives!”
Police could not be reached for comment, but B.C. has a special hate crimes unit headed by the RCMP.
The Halalt put up a roadblock last week to protest a project by the municipality of North Cowichan that will see wells tapping into an aquifer that feeds the Chemainus River.
Mr. George said some drivers who have been stopped by the road block have sworn at protesters and signs declaring the road is on native land have been defaced by obscene graffiti or torn up.
But Mr. George said racist slurs or obscenities aimed at band members aren't too upsetting to him or others.
“We know about the racism that's out there in the broader community,” he said. “It's not that common, but it happens . . .More than anything I would just like to educate these people.”
Mr. George said he understands the frustration of drivers inconvenienced by the roadblock, but the Halalt felt strong action was needed to draw attention to the drinking water issue.
He said the protest is aimed at ensuring protection of the Chemainus River watershed and in the long run that will benefit non-native residents of the area as much as it will serve natives on the reserve.
“We're really fighting for everyone's water here,” he said.
The municipality is spending $6-million to drill wells to provide clean drinking water to the community but the band says the project is being done without proper consultation and that it could affect the reserve's water supply.
“We feel our rights have been infringed upon by the district of North Cowichan and that was then rubber stamped by the provincial and federal governments,” he said.
“We want our hand on the tap,” said Mr. George, whose band has applied to the B.C. Supreme
The matter is to be heard March 15 and Mr. George said the blockade will stay up until then.
North Cowichan Mayor Tom Walker couldn't be reached for comment, but in a statement released yesterday he said the issue should be decided in court.
“We have filed our evidence and would like this matter to be heard,” Mr. Walker stated. “We respect the Halalt's right to bring this matter before the courts and feel it is now imperative to receive the court's decision as soon as possible.”
Mr. Walker said his council has a good relationship with the Halalt, and the municipality provides the band with fire protection and sewage services.
He said the project has won environmental assessment approval from the provincial government, and North Cowichan must proceed now in order to ensure that $2.5-million in Canada/B.C. infrastructure grant funds are not lost.