We received the decision in our Petition today. Unfortunately it did not go in our favour.
A copy of the decision can be found here.
Ultimately the court decided that there were not grounds to legally impugn the decision of the City to enter into the Services Agreement.
DECISION IN KPRA PETITION IN THE NEWS
Although we were unsuccessful in our bid to have the City of Vancouver decision to approve the Senakw Services Agreement declared invalid we did obtain an important acknowledgment of our concerns from the Judge:
“I understand the frustration of the petitioners since they were impeded at every step in trying to obtain information about the process and how the Services Agreement came into existence. In order to access this information, the petitioners had to resort to bringing this petition. Their concerns are legitimate in respect to the impact the Development will have on traffic congestion, transportation challenges, and many other concerns. They were provided with no public forum to bring forward their concerns and have them heard. “
This was picked up in many of the press reports.
Canadian Press produced an article for which we were interviewed and which was picked up in leading news sources:
- CBC: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/sen-%C3%A1%E1%B8%B5w-kits-point-resident-association-legal-challenge-result-1.6985030
- Globe and Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-bc-court-rejects-challenge-to-squamish-nation-housing-project-in/
- Vancouver Sun: https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/b-c-court-rejects-challenge-to-huge-squamish-nation-housing-project-in-vancouver
- Global News: https://globalnews.ca/news/10000830/court-win-squamish-nation-housing-project/
- The Province: https://theprovince.com/news/local-news/b-c-court-rejects-challenge-to-huge-squamish-nation-housing-project-in-vancouver/wcm/3f83e9bf-b8f9-4c91-b7b3-cfec61a108c9
- Victoria Times Colonist: https://www.timescolonist.com/national-news/bc-court-rejects-challenge-to-huge-squamish-nation-housing-project-in-vancouver-7631490
In this Canadian Press article the Squamish Nation suggests that they are “open to engaging” with our association.
The CTV produced a report which looked in detail at the arguments: https://bc.ctvnews.ca/court-challenge-to-first-nation-s-massive-vancouver-development-project-rejected-1.6584155
This report from Business in Vancouver: https://biv.com/article/2023/10/bc-supreme-court-dismisses-challenge-vancouver-city-halls-senakw-services-deal
This report from the Daily Hive: https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-supreme-court-kitsilano-senakw-squamish-first-nation-vancouver-decision