A constitutional lawyer has sent a letter to the B.C. government saying that its decision to close Joffre Lakes Park to the public for two stretches potentially violates both provincial law and the Canadian Charter.
The popular park near Pemberton will be closed from June 20 to 27 and Sept. 8 to 30 so that members of the Lil’wat Nation and N’Quatqua can exercise their traditional activities on the land.
“The stated basis for the exclusion of the public is so 2,693 British Columbians, less than .05 per cent of the population, can have exclusive use of this Provincial treasure for 31 days because of their race and ethnic origin,” the letter from Marty Moore, JD, stated.
“This exclusion of people from Joffre Lakes infringes the Charter’s protection of British Columbians’ freedom of movement and their right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination based on race and ethnic origin.”
The park will be closed for a total of 31 days this year, but in May, the Lil’wat First Nation says it identified a total of 75 closure dates for Joffre Lakes over the spring and summer months.
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However, earlier in May, the province announced the park will only close to recreational visitors for a total of 31 days in the months of June and September.
The legal letter argues that the closures are inconsistent with the B.C. government’s Park Act.
“It’s not that one group has constitutional rights and the rest of the public doesn’t. In fact, all of the public has rights in this circumstance and that needs to be properly balanced and respected,” Moore told Global News.
“It’s possible this matter could go to court for judicial review of whether or not the Charter is in fact engaged and whether or not the government properly exercised its statutory rights and constitutional duties.”
The B.C. government said that the park is collaboratively managed with the two First Nations and the closures allow them to continue their cultural practices within their territory.
The park is set to reopen on Sunday.
Global News reached out to the Lil’wat First Nation but did not receive a response.
Oh darn I meant to post as Real Bob B not Doug Brekfaust again…
I actually don’t even know if JV is a real person. He could just be a bot. I actually don’t even know if he’s even FN. He could just be a white guy with a higher IQ than me toying with my fragile emotions and laughing hysterically at how easily I fall for his ragebating tactics. Either way I’m so f**king stupid I’ll fall for it every time 😂😂😂😂😂
I actually don’t even know who JV is but I obsess over him 24/7
Bring it on JV. I’m too much of a coward to meet face to face so bring on the vote!
Bring on the vote JV, bring on the vote!
Facts don’t lie. Change is coming.
Btw anyone want a blow job? Meet me behind the Best Western on Davie Street. I’m the fat white guy with a beard and cut off jean shorts
Everything I’ve ever said about me or anyone else on here is a complete and total lie. That’s what racist white cowards like me do when I’m confronted with reality. Being a lying coward is just in my nature. Not to mention a thief like all of my scab faced brothers and sisters down on East Hastings
Meanwhile bla bla bla is all I do on here everyday other whine and cry like a little bltch because nobody listens to racist white cowards like me anymore
Haha.Blah and more Blah Blah. Big tough keyboard crazy talk! LOL. You sound like, are, a raving lunatic but I guess it’s just the in blood eh JV?
You are just afraid to address the facts, the polls, the stats, and the 90% of MLAs willing to repeal DRIPA. Aren’t you? It’s a fact right! It’s public record. That’s a Coward.
I saw that early photo of you in FB hiding behind a hockey mask before you changed it .
Just some 5 foot 4, FAS baby, who is a short, stubby, tiny hands, multi fathered welfare case.
I am sitting in West Van, played a round of golf today at Shaughnessy and now watching WC with about 10 buddies another club on the north shore.
Just Like I know nothing about you You KNOW NOTHING about me. I am against those Alberta Separatists, I can’t stand Trump and Maga. I have a number of LGBT colleagues and acquaintances, I actually liked Horgan over Rustad but dislike the NDP.
I am just against some two tier feudal society where some unelected minority holds authority and sway over and above the electorate.
Equal means Equal!
And given the polls and stats I am actually now well within the majority. 😝
We will see who has the last laugh!
🤭
Bring in the vote!
Oops… Bob B here. I meant to post as Bob B but I accidentally posted as Doug Brekfaust. I swear we’re not the same person. My IQ is so high that I would never forget what name I’m using. It’s so unbelievably obvious that I use multiple names on here but I’m going to pretend that nobody notices and deny it completely. It really helps with my mental illness
And boys. I really like boys
Also I like men
The truth is I’m a white trash warrior that lives in a trailer park. I bring up irrelevant statistics that add absolutely nothing to the conversation. Also I pretend that I’m laughing but in reality I’m the one crying like a little bltch because I’m part of a small group of Nazl white nationalists that nobody takes seriously in Canada. Also I’m a coward
You’ll be the one crying very soon JV. If Eby didn’t chicken out 83 out of 93 BC MLAs would have voted to repeal, suspend or amend DRIPA.
That’s 90% of voter representation! Including almost all of the NDP MLAs.
So much for your small far right wing fringe group narrative.
Even in the this story you’ll that the govt is rolling back the other way.
The F’nN went from 68 days last year to 31 days this year. That’s a 55% roll back!! 😂 😝 😜
More to come .
Crying because whites are getting more respect from the Canadian government than nationalist First Nations
Lol See two comments below. So there you have the real proof. JV, our resident “Steward of the Land” 😂 representative telling the rest of BC exactly what and how the FNs, to quote him directly, would like the majority of BC’ers to “ shove the “Canadian charter” straight up our a$$.”
It is very clear folks the FNs do not have mutual benefit in mind for the rest of Canadian society with regards to their so called new levels of respect and opportunities.
Recent polls have 53% of BC’ers saying DRIPA has done too far and 30% saying DRIPA is needed for T&R. Inferring that 70% don’t think we need DRIPA ( Angus Reid Poll – fact check it)
So This is not some small far right fringe group concerned about FN over reach. This is a significant proportion of the population.
Time to vote folks!
It’s my constitutional right as a Canadian to suck c0cks for 5 bucks behind the Best Western on Davie Street
This racist lawyer can shove the “Canadian charter” straight up his a$$. Just another Conservative white nationalist looking for attention. Crying because First Nations are getting more respect from the Canadian government than white trash freedumb fighters are these days. Too funny 🤣🤣
This is a very slippery slope. I can trace my Canadian ancestry back several generations. Should I be given more rights than first or second generation Canadians? Equality for all should always be the answer. All ethnicities have experienced problems. English people looked down on Scottish and Irish. Han Chinese looked down on other ethnicities in China. We’ll never be able to right all previous wrongs. We can deal with the present and, I believe, equal treatment for everyone is the most respectful and best solution.
Setting up a two tier society, where a small minority group has its own special set of privileges, rights and authority over the majority isn’t unconstitutional?
Go figure!
Of course it violates the constitution but Eby continues to co-premier with the FN’s so don’t hold your breath.
He does have a point.
I find myself these failing to have any empathy for the First Nations.
@Pete-
The NDP already made a deal. It’s fully non disclosed so we dont know exactly what is going on or how much is paid etc but the end result was park closures, new FN hires and new and higher fees for use of the park.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out this was turned into land and cash grab.
Please Fact that!
Maybe it is time to end Joffre’s status as a park and stop spending money on managing closures and maintaining it.
Last year I was riding my motorcycle up to Duffy Lake and stopped the parks parking lot during its closure period.
The parking lot was completely empty. The ranger minding the gate implied to me that no one, including First Nations, had been in the park in days.
So it seems to me this all completely unnecessary and that it’s just some attempt to take full ownership of the park.
Can you not see that they are laughing at us? They keep poking the bear and the bear keeps taking it. What will it take for the 97% of us to push back and say no?
Maybe it’s time for us to put away the lawyers and bring out goodwill.
I’m never thrilled to hear someone’s closed a highway or blocked a construction that could benefit the entire countr. At the same time I’m not thrilled to know some of this land’s most ancient denizens need a few days here and there to recall their ancestry. Should we make it a big deal? Or maybe just let it go, but remind folks that understanding and cooperation is needed from everyone.
Chugs will be chugs …. clean up the DTES first if all lives matter!
At Maddie:
When ever they are given something all they ever say is “ it’s a start”.
Enough is enough. All the empathy and compassion I previously had for the FN is gone. It’s all about greed with them. They have received an obscene amount of money from all governments (my tax dollars) and yet it is never enough. “We want more. You owe us.” Nope. Not any more. I hope this case is successful and I hope tons of people show up to Joffre Lake during these closures. I am so sick of this b.s. pandering.
Recent polls, specifically from the Angus Reid Institute, indicate declining public support for British Columbia’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). About 53% of British Columbians believe the legislation goes too far in limiting provincial authority, while 30% view it as a necessary step for reconciliation.
A poll highlighted a notable divide in B.C. over land and property rights following recent court decisions. It found that 53% of residents feel DRIPA goes “too far” in limiting provincial authority, jumping 9 points in less than a year.
Governments at all levels have been falling all over themselves to raise first nations to the status of being “more equal than others.” It’s long past time to put an end to this nonsense. We are ALL Canadians and we should ALL be treated equally. Throughout human history, groups of people have been mistreated. It sucks, but that’s what humans do. If there had been a war that the FN lost their lands in, it would be a “too bad, so sad, sucks to be you” situation. Instead, they lost their lands to shady dealings with the “crown.” Why should this be treated differently?
What this “special” treatment is doing is causing hatred to develop where it didn’t exist before. What is better — having 4% of the population feeling put upon or having a good portion of the other 96% of the population wishing that 4% would simply vanish?
I used to be ambivalent to FN, now I hate them with a passion.
At Nancy:
And do you think that T&R has been implemented without using a different set of charter of rights loopholes?
The basis of FN land claims is all based off oral history evidence that was put into place by the charter loophole process.
Everyone else in this country has to provide documentation and hard evidence to validate whatever claims they make. Only the FNs can make up some story and have it accepted as fact in a court of law. Oddly enough this story is then immediately disputed by three or four different FNs groups who have made up a different story.
Throughout history of the world, the one constant factor is humans have displaced other humans from one location to another. Those of the first nation did that to other tribes. The issue is the refusal to adapt to the current environment constants and advantages..
CHUGS make great parents
It not just Joffre Lake.
All across the province, public and to some extent private access is being encroached on by the FNs.
Example?!?
Richmond by Cowichin for one. But a better example is Pender Harbour by the Sechelt FNs.
The F’nNs are telling waterfront private property owners around the harbour to remove docks and retaining walls, banning access of motorised boats to one section and full access periodically.
Enough is enough folks.
Joffrey lake is really only accessible for about 5 maybe 6 months of the year.
As was reported on the BC Govt Web site. “In 2025 the province enforced dates totalling about 68 days of closure, the First Nations had requested over 100 days. “!!!
68 days about 35% of its available access and 100 would be over 50%!!! And yet it’s given to a small group of people who represent about less 0.5% of BC population.
Please explain how that is fair to the rest of society.
Provincial parks are pubic assets. They are Public property and there to benefit all tax payers. Not just a handful of people.
“ right to equal protection and equal benefit”.
Anyone who has been on this comment section for awhile has read me mention Joffrey Lake before.
That’s goes for just about everything else regarding the FN demands.
Is what they are demanding actually fair for the rest of us?
The FNs never entered into T&R in good faith and with the best of intentions for fairness across all society. T&R has been a completely one sided cash and land grab at the rest of societies tax expense. It’s time for a vote. What was voted in can be voted out!
Bring it on.
( and que JV in shortly to post his usual sorts of anti white, homophobic, racist insults and slurs)
We give, give and give. Why accommodate a group of Canadians who we are forced to thank on a daily basis for their generosity on my own land which they claim is their. Give an inch they take a mile. Enough is enough. The Province needs to fight back and Ottawa needs to protect our rights not the perceived rights of a few.
Nothing like reintroducing segregation to the world.
Enough of this territory garbage. We need to take back our country. We paid the natives for it. They claim treaty right, but forget they traded the land for that right.
The BC government needs to manage the park for all BC residents, not just some.
Annonymous
June 27, 2026 at 2:11 am: They do not have the rights to continue cultural practices within the land that now belongs to Canada and BC. Of course the Canadian charter supersedes any native rights given by Canada. – that is how it works.
Nancy: You have a point, but it is backwards… ” The air of self-centered entitlement is beyond suffocating!” – It is entitlement when one believes that one can exclude another because of race. Why should they have exclusive use of our park? Entitlement. – we want to share. – see how it works?
It is great that someone ix finally standing up to the racists. – Why is Carney and the Liberals not standing up for Canadians? They are counting on the native vote, and will pay them anything to get it.
NDP idiots and the drunken feather clowns are all morons. If I felt like going to Joffre lakes (since my taxes pay for it ) I would and if any good tried to tell me not to it wouldn’t and well for them.
Time to put the Welfare Injuns in their place (RESERVES). Never worked as day in their lives & expect everything. Government needs to do their job & put those Idiots back in the Bush!!
I’ve been listening to the CBC and Liberal Government Propaganda for way too long.Just look at the highly embellished statement I wrote below.Of course it’s way over the top but that’s the best way to push the spin.
Anonymous, as always, you are completely full of it.
If the left are involved it almost definitely mrans our rights have been violated.
Nope Canadian Charter cannot supersede Indigenous rights. That would negate work towards reconciliation.
Is this park on un-ceded territory? If so there should be no argument about aboriginal use of the land.
For sure. This is outright discrimination. We should all go to Joffre Lake during the days it’s supposed to be closed. What are they going to do? Shoot us?
It is racist to prevent Canadians from entering a provincial or national park because of their race. These acts of discrimination and other similar acts of racism are dividing non-Indigenous Canadians and Indigenous Canadians. This will not end well. Reconciliation is apparently finished.
Should be open to all. We pay taxes for the parks!!
Nancy because there’s a certain group of white nationalists in Canada that are dead set on waging war against First Nations people regardless of the reason. These are the same people that are trying to separate from Canada and openly support Trump and MAGA. They want all First Nations to be stripped of their culture and dignity and they want all immigrants out of Canada. These white nationalists are the lowest form of life in our society and even though they seem loud on the internet they’re actually greatly outnumbered in Canada. Nothing but a fringe minority. Nothing more nothing less
Just because I’m a racist old man with no life doesn’t make me a bad person
We pay for those parks. It should be open for everybody.
How is it Truth & Reconciliation when you have ignorant lawyers using loopholes to discriminate traditional Indigenous practices? Yes, the park is for everyone but how is having the park closed for cultural events a bad thing? There are park closures due to land restoration purposes so how is this any different? BC is full of parks; if one is closed, go to another one! The air of self-centered entitlement is beyond suffocating!
what a bloody joke, the park is for everybody