Chief Robert (Bob) Chamberlain is the well-spoken Chief of a tiny First Nation whose members have largely left their traditional territory and Band reserves around the northeastern coast of Vancouver Island. Only some 45 of its 295 registered members still live there according to the latest government figures. In addition to being the local Chief, Mr. Chamberlain is also a Vice-President of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, where he makes the following statement on the organization’s website:
“As Vice-President, I will always be respectful of each Nation’s authority and autonomy to determine what is in the best interests for their families and their territories. I will be available to assist any and all UBCIC Member Nations protect and further their interests to government and/or industry”.
Given the long list of scientific studies, environmental assessments, hearings and inquiries that have been conducted about the salmon farming industry in British Columbia and their failure to find any serious risk posed by it to the well-being of wild salmon stocks along the coast - including risks from the exposure to parasitic sea lice - it is surprising that Chief Chamberlain maintains his extreme opposition to this industry, which represents one of few economic development options available to his own members who have chosen to live away from the more populated and industrious regions of the province.
It is also surprising that Chief Chamberlain carries out an active campaign against salmon farming in its present form, when some of his First Nation neighbouring Chiefs are actively pursuing opportunities of economic development within the salmon aquaculture industry. Applications for new production sites have been submitted to regulators, with strong First Nation support - in one case the applications for two new sites were even submitted by the local Chief himself (Chief Tom Wallace of the Tlatlasikwala First Nation).
A recent posting by Bob Weber of The Canadian Press describes one failed attempt by Chief Chamberlain and his allies to launch an inquiry into salmon farming in British Columbia through the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA);
Conservationists and First Nations are angry that NAFTA's environmental watchdog has rejected a recommendation to investigate Canada's handling of salmon farms along the British Columbia coast.
"I am deeply disappointed in Canada continuing to put wild salmon at risk,” said Chief Bob Chamberlin of the Kwikwasutinuxw Haxwa'mis First Nation. “This process may have ended, but our struggle to safeguard wild salmon will not falter for a moment.”
The Commission on Environmental Co-operation said Friday that its three-member council had voted against looking into accusations that Canada violated its own laws by allowing fish farms to harm wild salmon stocks through the spread of parasites. Canada and Mexico voted against the investigation, while the United States wanted to pursue it. Canada argued that there is already a lawsuit before the courts in B.C. The commission's rules don't allow investigations into matters that are already the subject of legal proceedings.
The commission's staff had already concluded there was enough evidence against Canada to merit a deeper examination. They argued that the B.C. lawsuit is substantially different than what they were looking into. But Canada said staff had no right to consider for themselves whether the legal issues were the same. They should only take direction from a member country, it argued. The vote, which was taken five months after it was supposed to have been, ends the joint complaint from the First Nation, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Pacific Coast Wild Salmon Society and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations.
The commission was created in 1995 to win environmental support for the North American Free Trade Agreement by ensuring the deal wouldn't boost commerce at the expense of clean air, water or land. Commission staff investigate public complaints that Canada, the U.S. or Mexico aren't living up to their laws and they can recommend an investigation called a "factual record" if they find enough grounds. The investigation only proceeds if a majority of member nations approve it. The commission has little or no enforcement power even if it does conclude a nation isn't living up to its environmental laws.
