The B.C. government is transferring 31 hectares of Crown land to the Ts’uubaa-asatx First Nation in southern Vancouver Island as part of an Incremental Treaty Agreement (ITA) between the province and the Nation.
The land, called District Lot 27, is located near the Ts’uubaa-asatx’s community reserve and Cowichan Lake and is valued at approximately $1.6 million.
The province describes the land as “culturally significant” and says the transfer is just the beginning of further negotiations under the ITA.
“I look forward to building on this agreement as we continue to work collaboratively with Ts’uubaa-asatx in the years to come,” said B.C. Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Murray Rankin in a release Friday.
Ts’uubaa-asatx First Nation Chief Melanie Livingstone says the Nation is excited about the land transfer’s economic potential.
“These lands will become critical to Ts’uubaa-asatx’s further economic, recreational and socio-economic priorities, which are regularly updated in our comprehensive community development plan,” she said.
“Ts’uubaa-asatx is looking forward to master planning these lands to see how they fit within the regional context of development.”
Ts’uubaa-asatx First Nation is formerly known as the Lake Cowichan First Nation, and the English translation of the name Ts’uubaa-asatx is “People of the Lake.”
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Adam Chan
