Minister of Transport Chuck Strahl visited Prince Rupert on Monday 14th March 2011 to announce an agreement reached between the government of Canada, the Prince Rupert Port Authority, and the Coast Tsimshian (Lax Kw’alaams & Metlakatla) to expand the Fairview container terminal.
“We’re building a foundation for the future,” said Strahl in his remarks in front of about 50 people in the maintenance building at Fairview. “That future involves first nations, and that’s a great thing.”
Strahl and other speakers – including Chief Councillor Harold Leighton of Metlakatla and Chief Councillor Gary Reece of Lax Kw’alaams praised the agreement as contributing to economic growth while recognizing aboriginal title, but they offered few details on what it actually contained.
“This deal brings us certainty that we can do business in partnership with our neighbours,” said Leighton in his remarks to the audience.
According to a backgrounder distributed by the Port, the agreement lasts 40 years and pertains to “consultation and accommodation for potential infringements of aboriginal rights and title arising from the construction and operation of Phase I and Phase II of the Fairview Container Terminal.”
The backgrounder also states there will be payments from the Port and the government of Canada, as well as a transfer of land from the Province to the Coast Tsimshian and a lease-back from the Port. The agreement also features “sole source contracting opportunities for PRPA projects valued at over $20 million.”
Exactly how much money and how much land are at question is unknown except to those involved in the negiotiations. More details may be made public once the agreement is officially signed in a few weeks.
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