Hnery HonkHonk

The rhetoric we’re hearing from BC Conservatives and OneBC on First Nations issues right now echoes some of the arguments used by BC Liberals while in Opposition in the late 1990s. Many people will remember the appeals to “One Law for All” during the debate over the Nisga’a agreement. (I remember opposing that argument at the time, even though I was a member of the BC Liberal Party.) But something interesting happened after the Liberals formed government. Premier Gordon Campbell and Attorney General Geoff Plant quickly discovered that governing in British Columbia requires a serious and respectful relationship with First Nations. They moved toward negotiated reconciliation and modern treaties. The question now is whether today’s opposition will go through the same evolution. We know that OneBC won't. But would the BC Conservatives? How would a “Premier Caroline Elliott,” for example, manage the Province's relationship with First Nations after everything she has been saying to date? Would she evolve the way Campbell and Plant ultimately did? Or would British Columbia be headed for a major cycle of conflict? One way or another, this is one of the most important issues facing our province today.