Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Pressure on Callaghan Valley stakeholders

Of the three primary Olympic facilities that have to be built in Whistler, the athletes village, the bobsleigh/luge track and the Nordic centre in the Callaghan valley, the Nordic centre – and the possibilities it represents – is perhaps th

Of the three primary Olympic facilities that have to be built in Whistler, the athletes village, the bobsleigh/luge track and the Nordic centre in the Callaghan valley, the Nordic centre – and the possibilities it represents – is perhaps the most intriguing. That intrigue grew this week as Squamish Nation Chief Bill Williams told CBC Radio his people would seek court action if their concerns with the current plans for the Callaghan aren’t addressed.

The Callaghan Valley is claimed by both the Squamish Nation and the Lil’wat as part of their traditional territory. The local First Nations have been part of the Olympic plans from the beginning, with representatives on the board of the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation and now VANOC. Early on in the process an agreement was struck whereby the First Nations would relinquish any claims to the Nordic centre area in exchange for a number of things outlined in a Shared Legacy Agreement. They include: 300 acres of Crown land; $50,000 toward a feasibility study on land location and development opportunities; $2.3 million for a Skills and Training Legacy project; $500,000 to a Naming and Recognition project; $3 million towards the construction of the First Nations cultural centre in Whistler; representation on the Legacies Society that will own, manage and operate the Olympic facilities after the Games; $6.5 million for housing, and a guarantee of contracting opportunities. As well, the province will contribute $3 million toward the establishment of an Aboriginal youth sports legacy endowment fund by next April and will provide funding through the planning processes for the First Nations to further assess their interests in the Callaghan Valley.

But late last month a lawyer acting on behalf of the Squamish and Lil’wat wrote to the Environmental Assessment Office, which is reviewing the Nordic centre plans, and to VANOC to protest the current plans. Specifically, "‘backcountry legacy facilities’, intended to be developed and constructed in the upper Callaghan Valley as an adjunct to the Whistler Nordic Centre itself."

Gregory McDade wrote: "These facilities go well beyond the original ‘footprint’ of the Whistler Nordic Centre that the First Nations understood was being developed in the Callaghan Valley and was contemplated by the Shared Legacy Agreement that provided benefits to the First Nations in exchange for support of the Olympic bid process. These trails and backcountry facilities will have significant impacts on the aboriginal rights and title interests of First Nations in the area and must give rise to a separate duty to consult and accommodate prior to any approval of the project or an interim decision by the Environmental Assessment Office."

The First Nations are not alone in their concern that what is now being proposed for the Callaghan goes beyond the scope of what was proposed in the Olympic bid book. The proprietors of Callaghan Country, a private business that offers backcountry experiences and accommodation at its lodge in the upper Callaghan, see the backcountry legacy facilities as unfair competition.

Callaghan Country has supported the Olympics and the Nordic centre from the beginning. The company also helped pioneer the tenure process for commercial backcountry operations. The tenure system gives Callaghan Country, and other commercial operators with tenures, a degree of certainty that allows them to invest in their businesses.

But there is a lot of uncertainty at the moment. Tenures are subject to renewal by the province every few years. First Nations reportedly aren’t happy with the tenures in the Callaghan. As well, the province, naturally, wants to see the Nordic centre – built with $105 million of taxpayers money – become a financial success following the 2010 Games.

While local First Nations’ and private operators’ concerns about the Callaghan may still be amicably resolved, the backdrop to all First Nations negotiations in B.C. may change this week. Two Supreme Court of Canada rulings today are expected to clarify that access to and development of Crown land can not proceed until First Nations’ interests have been fully considered. The Supreme Court’s rulings follow last month’s decision by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Marvyn Koenigsberg that the Squamish Nation must be further consulted on the proposed Garibaldi at Squamish resort.

On Tuesday of this week Vancouver Sun columnist Vaughn Palmer revealed that a discussion paper was circulating among B.C.’s First Nations that encourages native leaders to build "Strategies and tactics to make the most of the legal and political opportunity arising from the upcoming Supreme Court of Canada decision."

The discussion paper, according to Palmer, suggests identifying a case or group of cases to "up the ante" in the courts. The objective would be to "Create the greatest financial and political pressure, particularly if a number of similar cases were commenced at the same time."

To be clear, Palmer identified this as a discussion paper, not policy among First Nations. Moreover, there has been no indication the Squamish or Lil’wat are supportive of the positions in the discussion paper. Indeed, Squamish Nation Chief Gibby Jacob, in particular, has made many attempts to bridge the gap between the native and non-native communities. At a forum on the cultural centre earlier this year he said simply, "We will be contributing to society."

But the Olympics bring pressures and deadlines, as well as opportunities. Everyone knows the deadline facing the Olympic Nordic Centre. The pressures are coming from all directions. The opportunities associated with the Nordic centre and the Callaghan Valley are what need to be realized.