So Ian Campbell wants to become Vancouver鈥檚 next mayor.
One of 16 hereditary chiefs with the Squamish Nation and a band councillor, he鈥檚 also been a key negotiator in getting his community to work with the nations to reclaim more than 120 acres of land in Vancouver.
The properties include the 90-acre Jericho lands, the 21-acre Heather Street lands near Queen Elizabeth Park and the 10-acre Liquor Distribution Branch warehouse property on East Broadway, which is co-owned with the Aquilini Investment Group.
Once redeveloped, the value of the properties is estimated to be in the billions of dollars.
The federal government鈥檚 commercial property arm, Canada Lands Company, holds an equal interest in the Heather Street lands and 52 acres of the Jericho lands; the remaining 38 acres of Jericho is owned by the bands.
To oversee development, the three nations founded the MST Development Corporation, which is also responsible for steering development of another 40 acres of land in West 麻豆传媒映画and in Burnaby, which also involves Canada Lands Company and the Aquilini Investment Group.
That鈥檚 a total of about 160 acres in Metro Vancouver.
Name me another local entity that has that much developable land.
The Squamish also fully owns an 11-acre property that runs under the south side of the Burrard Bridge, which is not under the portfolio of the MST Development Corporation but is slated for redevelopment at some point in the future.
Campbell鈥檚 nation reclaimed the land in 2003 after lengthy court battles. He mentioned the property in his launch for mayor Monday, noting it was once the site of a Squamish village until government burned it to the ground in 1913.
It鈥檚 all this property and Campbell鈥檚 connection to it as a director of the MST Development听 Corporation that has people talking about what the chief鈥檚听 role will be if Vision 麻豆传媒映画members choose him to be their mayoral candidate and he is later elected mayor.
Some big 鈥渋fs鈥� there, but worth exploring.
I asked Campbell about this relationship with the MST at his launch Monday.
鈥淚 recognize that my role as one of the negotiators and my involvement with the MST would put me in a conflict of interest, so I would be more than happy to look at how I would step back from those responsibilities,鈥� he said.
So that鈥檚 pretty clear.
What Campbell has also made clear with me in previous interviews is how big of a deal it is for three nations to work together to develop land in Vancouver, despite the cost to buy back property on territory officially acknowledged by city government as unceded.
鈥淲e want to be inclusive and participate in regulatory processes, but we also need to balance that to show that First Nations bring something substantive to the table,鈥� he said on a sunny summer day in June 2016 while sitting on a bench on the edge of the nation鈥檚 land under the Burrard Bridge. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e creating a future, I believe, that is very exciting for transforming the city.鈥�
Added Campbell: 鈥淭he value of these lands has become a topic of interest for many people. Of course, there鈥檙e a lot of preconceived images [of what we鈥檒l do with the land]. People don鈥檛 know who First Nations are, they don鈥檛 know our story, they don鈥檛 know the history and breadth of the contributions we鈥檝e made to build this city because we鈥檝e been marginalized deliberately by various levels of government over the last 150 years.鈥�
Coincidentally, the day after Campbell鈥檚 launch, city council adopted the Heather Street lands 鈥減olicy statement,鈥� which is essentially a guide for future development on the property owned by the three nations and the Canada Lands Company.
The plan is to have more than 2,300 new homes for 鈥渕ixed incomes, ages and cultures, including social, affordable and family housing,鈥� according to a news release the city issued after council鈥檚 unanimous vote.
At least 20 per cent of the homes will be social housing and an additional 20 per cent 鈥渢argeted for more affordable, attainable home ownership,鈥� the release said.
Vision鈥檚 Andrea Reimer was one of the city councillors who unanimously adopted the policy statement. She also happens to be Campbell鈥檚 co-chairperson in his campaign.
Any conflict there?
Before I get to Reimer鈥檚 answer, I want to let you know the NPA鈥檚 Hector Bremner also voted to adopt the Heather Lands policy statement. Bremner, who is seeking re-election, happens to have aligned himself with Wade Grant of the Musqueam Indian Band, who declared he was seeking a council nomination with the NPA.
So any conflict there?
I鈥檒l begin with Reimer鈥檚 response, which came via email.
鈥淥n the Heather Lands, no I am not in a conflict and I don鈥檛 really understand how it could even be perceived as a conflict,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淔or the one partner, MST, I have no direct or indirect financial interest in any of the three local First Nations which collectively own MST.鈥�
听She continued:
鈥淔or the other partner, Canada Lands Corporation, I guess you could argue that you and I are both in conflict as CLC is collectively held by all Canadians. But when a conflict is held in common with all, it鈥檚 not a conflict as you may know.听I do have a long history of fighting for justice and economic reconciliation but that would be values-driven leadership as opposed to a conflict.鈥�
She ended with:
鈥淚 find it frustrating that possible conflicts are going by unchallenged but when Indigenous people own lands collectively it becomes an issue. At the same time, it does speak to me of the need to break through that barrier, and one of the reasons I see the necessity of Ian鈥檚 campaign to break it.鈥�
Bremner thought it was stretch to link his vote to Grant and the Musqueam. His vote also came a couple of weeks after learning he is no longer in the running to become the NPA鈥檚 mayoral candidate. As a result, Grant is mulling whether he will continue his campaign.
The NPA hasn鈥檛 publicly revealed why Bremner didn鈥檛 get the nod, but allegations have been swirling for weeks about Bremner鈥檚 perceived conflicts of interest related to his work in public affairs and as a former lobbyist; he has denied all claims, calling it a smear campaign by other party members.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 see how I could possibly be in a conflict in that,鈥� Bremner said by telephone when asked about his vote on the Heather Street lands. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have an official role in [Wade鈥檚]campaign, he doesn鈥檛 have an official role in mine.鈥�
Added Bremner: 鈥淭he first step to reconciliation is going to be economic reconciliation and parity with the nations and the mainstream economy. I鈥檓 glad we had unanimous support for [the policy statement].鈥�
Campbell, meanwhile, still has to win Vision鈥檚 June 24 mayoral nomination contest. As I reported Monday, he鈥檒l face tech entrepreneur Taleeb Noormohamed, who is expected to make his mayoral bid official May 23 at an event in Gastown.
@Howellings
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