“Joffre Lakes is a ‘Class A’ provincial park, meant for the public.
B.C. is now excluding the public from the entire 1,487-hectare park for 31 days, with “no indication” it considered the constitutional rights of British Columbians.
As @JCCFCanada warns, the demands of particular groups do not dictate the rights of the public.”
https://x.com/PublicLandBC/status/2066955337320812862
“The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that lawyers funded by the Justice Centre have sent a legal letter to the Government of British Columbia (Province) calling for the immediate rescission of planned public closures at Joffre Lakes Park, arguing the closures are excessive, discriminatory, and inconsistent with both provincial law and Charter protections.
“Earlier this year, the Province announced that temporary closures at the park would continue in order to reserve access during specified periods for members of the Lil’wat ‘Nation’ {a ‘nation’ of 2,299 people} and N’Quatqua {394 people} to conduct cultural activities. Located about 35 kilometres east of Pemberton along Highway 99 in British Columbia’s Sea-to-Sky region, Joffre Lakes Park is one of the province’s most popular hiking destinations and attracted nearly 200,000 visitors in 2019 before visitor restrictions and reservation systems were introduced.
“The warning letter argues that Joffre Lakes Park, as a ‘Class A’ provincial park, exists under the ‘Park Act’ “for the inspiration, use and enjoyment of the public” and that excluding the public for extended periods during peak season is inconsistent with that statutory purpose. It states that reserving access to the park exclusively for particular groups based on Race or ethnic origin violates sections 6 and 15(1) of the Charter {but is unfortunately supported by the disingenuous ‘Section 15(2)}, protecting mobility rights and equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination.
{‘The Strange Case of Canadian ‘Legal Equality’
“The political — and therefore, ‘flexible’ — tool that is subsection (2) means that the Constitutional Principle of Section 15(1) cannot really exist as a ‘Principle’, and merely serves as an inspirational introduction to the court-driven social engineering enabled by subsection (2).
“As a result, legal equality of individual Canadian citizens has become a thing of the past…”
“The provincial government is obligated to manage parks for the use and enjoyment of the public”,
said constitutional lawyer Marty Moore.
“There is no indication that the provincial government took the constitutional rights of the public into account in the decision to exclude the public from the 1487-hectare Joffre Lake Park entirely for 31 days.”
“The letter concludes by requesting that the Province immediately reverse the closures and warns that legal proceedings may follow if the policy remains in place.
“The Justice Centre is Canada’s leading civil liberties organization defending Charter rights and freedoms in the courts of law and in the court of public opinion. Founded in 2010, the Justice Centre funds lawyers across Canada, relies entirely on voluntary donations to carry out its mission, and issues official tax receipts to donors.”
–‘Race-based closures at Joffre Lakes Park draw constitutional warning’,
Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, June 15, 2026
https://www.jccf.ca/race-based-closures-at-joffre-lakes-park-draw-constitutional-warning/
******************************
Give them an inch and they’ll demand a mile…
‘First Nations’ criticize province over Joffre Lakes Park closure dates’
VIDEO:
“The clash between Líl̓wat and B.C. over Joffre Lakes Park closures underscores the B.C. government’s fraying commitment to the general public.”
“In early May, BC Parks announced Joffre Lakes Park (‘Pipi7íyekw’) will be restricted to members of the Líl̓wat and N’Quatqua ‘nations’ from June 20-27 and Sept. 8-30.
“Líl̓wat ‘Nation’ has since released its own statement with different closure dates, saying the trust with the Province has been broken.
******************************
“Once again, one of B.C.’s most popular parks is implementing temporary closures this summer — and no one is happy about it.
“Since 2023, Joffre Lakes Park has closed for brief ‘reconnection’ periods, when entry is restricted to members of Líl̓wat and N’Quatqua ‘First Nations’, whose {claimed} ‘unceded territories’ encompass the park.
“Last year, things went off the rails. Backlash over the temporary closures spiked as politicians — including B.C. ‘Conservative’ {Party} leadership candidate Caroline Elliott and OneBC leader Dallas Brodie — used the closures to argue ‘Indigenous’ {sic} Rights had gone too far. On ‘X’, Brodie claimed that park access across the province may {will!} someday be “dependent upon your racial status”.
“Then came a dispute over the length of the final 2025 reconnection period. The ‘nations’ {Tribes/Bands} planned for two months, from late August to the end of October, but B.C. Parks went with about half that time, between the Labour Day weekend and Oct. 3. The decision sparked protests from members and supporters of the two ‘nations’ and ‘allies’.
“Which brings us to May 7, when B.C. Parks announced the closure dates for this year: one week in June, which includes National ‘Indigenous’ Peoples’ Day on June 21, and from Sept. 8 until the National Day for ‘Truth’ and ‘Reconciliation’ on Sept. 30. Neither ‘nation’ was part of the announcement. They have not met with B.C. Parks as a working group since last fall’s dispute, according to the Ministry of Environment and Parks, which said it “has been working to try and re-engage” the ‘nations’ ever since.
{They always walk away and/or go to court when they don’t get their way. Compromise doesn’t seem to be in the their vocabulary.}
“On May 27, almost three weeks after the B.C. Parks announcement, Líl̓wat ‘Nation’ released a statement calling on the B.C. government to implement its desired ‘reconnection’ period for the fall, spanning Aug. 23 to Oct. 5. That’s roughly three weeks longer than the Province’s stated closure, and the ‘nation’ made it clear the unilateral announcement by the Province “has further undermined an already fractured relationship”.
“In an emailed statement, Líl̓wat ‘Nation’ said this year’s letter has also been signed by N’Quatqua ‘First Nation’, “reflecting continued alignment between the two ‘nations’ on the importance of the closure periods and the broader management concerns at Pipi7íyekw/Joffre Lakes”.
{N’Quatqua is not listed as a ‘First Nation’ but media have gotten into the lazy and sloppy habit of referring to all Aboriginal tribes, Bands and extended families as ‘First Nations’ and governments have been irresponsibly going along with this.}
…
“In a statement sent to ‘The Narwhal’ on May 27, the Ministry of Environment and Parks said it’s aware of the discrepancy between its 2026 dates and those given by Líl̓wat ‘Nation’.
“The Province reached out to the Líl̓wat ‘Nation’ and N’Quatqua ‘First Nation’ starting in February, reiterating a desire to identify long-term solutions that provide predictability and support the needs of all park users”,
it said. According to the statement, the length of the 2026 closure dates align with “a commitment the Province made in 2023 for 30 days of closures” — though in 2024 and 2025, the park was closed for nearly twice as many days.
“When asked if the Province has a plan in place for protests or {illegal} blockades that might arise over the disputed closure dates — as they did in 2025
https://thenarwhal.ca/joffre-lakes-labour-day-opening/
— Minister of ‘Indigenous’ Relations and Reconciliation {and Aboriginal Industry ‘ally’} Spencer Chandra Herbert did not answer directly, but said the Province supported peaceful protest but not blockades {Then ARREST THEM!}.
–‘The political battle over B.C. parks is back in season’,
Michelle Cyca, The Narwhal, June 1, 2026
https://thenarwhal.ca/joffre-lakes-closure-fight/
“In addition to the Botanical Beach and Joffre Lakes shutdowns, B.C. has also seen a series of federally-run recreation areas closed to public usage, with authorities also citing {racist} ‘cultural concerns’.”
“In what critics say is a template of things to come {‘Segregation’}, B.C. has begun closing public parks to non-‘Indigenous’ residents citing “cultural concerns”.
“This week, the B.C. government announced that Botanical Beach — a popular spot along the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail — would be closed for 24 hours over the May 24 weekend
“to provide time, space and privacy for members of the Pacheedaht ‘First Nation’ {a ‘nation’ of 303 people} to harvest marine resources and reconnect with an important part of their territory”.
“This follows on a series of similar closure of Joffre Lakes Provincial Park, one of the busiest recreational spots in the province … It will be the third year in a row that Joffre Lakes has been subject to some sort of closure for non-‘Indigenous’ {most} visitors.
“The first, in 2023, occurred when the nearby Líl̓wat and N’Quatqua ‘First Nations’ unilaterally barred public access to the park for more than five weeks.
{And were not even arrested, much less prosecuted for their defiant law-breaking.
END RACE BASED LAW!}
“In this time of {one-way} ‘reconciliation’, Lil’wat ‘Nation’ and N’Quatqua ‘First Nation’ are asserting our Title and Rights to our shared unceded territory to take this time to harvest and gather our resources within our territories,”
read a statement telling the B.C. public they would be barred access to the park from Aug. 23 “until National Truth and Reconciliation Day” (Sept. 30).
“When the Joffre Lakes closure was given official government sanction in 2024, B.C. Environment Minister George Heyman notably stressed that the action would not be a template for future closures of parks to non-‘Indigenous’ users {Liar…}.
“There is no universal policy”,
Heyman said at the time, adding that Joffre Lakes was only being closed because of a “distinction-based approach”.
“In a statement to National Post, the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Parks said
“these temporary closures represent a critical step forward on the path of {one-way} reconciliation and an important building block for future conversations on {Race-Based} shared stewardship, park management and access.”
“It added,
“‘First Nations’ may bring forward requests at any point during the year and we will work together to explore options to address their interests in balance with ensuring continued conservation and recreational opportunities for everyone.”
“In addition to the Botanical Beach and Joffre Lakes shutdowns, B.C. has also seen a series of federally-run recreation areas closed to public usage, with authorities also citing {racist, segregated} ‘cultural concerns’.
“On April 15, Parks Canada announced the indefinite closure of a section of Gulf Islands National Park Reserve of Canada.
“Cabbage Island, the site of a large day-use area and several wilderness campsites, is now subject to a “prohibited activity order”; anybody caught using the site now risks prosecution under the “Canada National Parks Act”.
“The purpose of this order is to protect the natural and cultural resources of the park”,
reads a Parks Canada warning posted around the site.
https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/bc/gulf/bulletins/d2577df1-257d-4acf-8c5e-b6e46e92834a
“A section of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve has also been shuttered for the 2025 season, with an official alert saying it is being done for “National Park Reserve management and {racist, segregated} cultural purposes”.
https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/bc/pacificrim/bulletins/ec990175-b183-4bf0-bfe1-ac6d52633d5d
“The restricted area is Willis Island, the site of several kayak-accessible campsites, although in this case the inciting incident was a November 2024 windstorm that littered the island with toppled trees.
“To ensure public safety and address infrastructure repairs, Tseshaht ‘First Nation’ {a ‘nation’ of 1,281 people} and Parks Canada have temporarily closed the island”,
read a notice published after the storm.
https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/bc/pacificrim/activ/camping/broken-group
“The Joffre Lakes closure has previously attracted criticism from Kevin Falcon, who served as Opposition leader until B.C.’s October 2024 provincial election. Last summer, he told a news conference that he opposed the closure of public parks in principle, and that any ‘Indigenous’ {sic} accommodation of the site
“should be done in the context of ensuring that this park is still available to the public {!}.”
“But one of the most widely-circulated critiques of the policy is a May 8 video by Caroline Elliott, a former candidate with the now-defunct political Party ‘BC United’.
https://x.com/NVanCaroline/status/1920658420740350158
“Elliot said that the Joffre Lakes closure was precipitated via the Lil’wat and N’Quatqua’s mere assertion of title over the park — even though this claim has never been formally confirmed.
“B.C. differs from much of Canada in that most of the province sits atop land that has never been formally ceded via treaty, aside from a handful of small 19th century treaties and four modern treaties struck in the 21st century.
“Those ‘modern treaties’ {a classic oxymoron} do ‘allow’ ‘Indigenous’ {racist} control over provincial parks, such as Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed Protected Area, which is jointly managed by the Nisg̱a’a ‘Nation’, the signatory of B.C.’s first modern treaty in 2000.
“But that’s not the case with Joffre Lakes, which is simply within an area that Lil’wat and N’Quatqua have claimed as their traditional territory. The ‘nations’ 2023 statement announcing the sudden closure of the park cited the authority of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
{But Canadian Aboriginals are ‘Indigenous’ to Siberia and Mongolia.}
“We’re now in a place where the mere assertion of title confers the right to prohibit public access to public spaces”,
said Elliott, noting that every single hectare of untreatied land in B.C. is subject to at least one or more ‘Indigenous’ territorial claims.
“We have to ask; what would prevent more closures like this, not just in parks, but in relation to any other public land?”
she said.”
–‘Non-Indigenous visitors being turned away from B.C. public parks’,
Tristin Hopper, National Post, May 22, 2025
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/non-indigenous-visitors-being-turned-away-from-b-c-public-parks
BACKGROUND:
‘Public Isn’t ‘Public’ Any More’ {Aug.29, 2023}:
“More Race Based Law…
This is supposed to be a PUBLIC Provincial park, for ALL people!
“All Camping Reservations and Day-Use Passes will be cancelled by B.C. Parks.”
“Joffre Lakes Provincial Park will be closed until September 30, 2023. The Líl’wat and N’Quatqua ‘First Nations’ say the closure is in support of a harvest celebration in the area they call “Pipi7iyekw” and ‘widely-known’ {legally-known} as Joffre Lakes Park.”
https://endracebasedlaw.ca/2023/08/29/public-isnt-public-any-more/
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END RACE BASED LAW Daily News Canada 