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Mamaleleqala Qwe'Qwa'Sot' Enox Band [McKenna-McBride Applications] - December 8, 1999
March 1997 The claim of the Mamaleleqala Qwe'Qwa'Sot'Enox Band centred on several unsuccessful applications for reserve lands made to the McKenna-McBride Commission in 1914. The McKenna-McBride Commission was established in 1912 and empowered, subject to approval from the federal and British Columbia governments, to adjust the acreage of Indian reserves in British Columbia. It met with representatives of the Mamaleleqala Band in June 1914, at which time the Band submitted 12 applications for additional reserve lands. Some of these applications included old village sites. During the McKenna-McBride hearings, however, the Mamaleleqala learned for the first time that many of the lands it sought for reserve status had been alienated through the granting of provincial timber leases and licences. These alienations were granted despite the fact that leases and licences were prohibited over Indian settlements under the provisions of the provincial Land Act. After meeting with the Mamaleleqala, the Commission met with the Indian Agent, W.M. Halliday, to obtain his recommendations on the Band's applications. He recommended a grant of 5 acres in each of the Lull Bay, Hoeya Sound, and Shoal Harbour areas, 400 to 500 acres on Swanson Island, and all of Compton Island. The Commission ultimately allowed only one of these applications - Compton Island. The remaining applications were rejected because they contained areas that were already alienated. An additional 2.17 acres were subsequently allotted in the Shoal Harbour area, following a review of the Commission's report by W.E. Ditchburn and J.W. Clark. In its final report, released in March 1997, the ICC found that the Band had Indian settlements in the areas of Lull Bay, Hoeya Sound, Shoal Harbour, and Knight's Inlet, and that Canada, through its Indian Agents, had a fiduciary obligation to protect those settlements from unlawful encroachments. Under the Land Act, applicants for leases and licences were required to publish a notice in the British Columbia Gazette and in the local newspaper before the leases and licences could be granted. The Indian Agents should have monitored the notices and, if any of the leases or licences were likely to interfere with an Indian settlement, they should have entered an objection. Therefore, the ICC concluded that Canada, through its Indian Agents, breached its fiduciary obligation to the Band in respect of those leases and licences that covered Indian settlement lands and were gazetted during the tenure of the Indian Agents. This meant that the Band had a valid claim for negotiation for a minimum of 5 acres and 2.83 acres in the Lull Bay and Shoal Harbour areas respectively, and for some of the Band's settlement lands in the Knight's Inlet area. The ICC also found that Agent Halliday had certain responsibilities prior to, during, and after the McKenna-McBride hearings. Prior to the hearings, he had a fiduciary obligation to prepare the Band for the McKenna-McBride process by providing basic information and advice. The evidence indicated that he failed to do so and, since additional lands were reasonably required by the Band and other unalienated lands were available which the Band could have applied for, the ICC concluded that the Band had a valid claim for negotiation as a result of Agent Halliday's conduct prior to the McKenna-McBride hearings. Response: In December 1999, the government rejected the recommendations made in the March 1997 report. Download Government Response Click Here for the Report |
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