Reconciliation project asks B.C. residents to pay 'rent' to live on traditional First Nations lands
A Victoria-based non-profit agency has developed a program that allows B.C. residents to voluntarily pay a portion of their housing costs as “rent” to First Nations communities.
The initiative by an agency called Reciprocity Trusts would see homeowners, renters and business owners make a tangible act of reconciliation rather than a symbolic one.
“Reciprocity is a way for all of us to decolonize our own backyards,” said Reciprocity founder and CEO Craig Candler. “The wealth that we have in this country, it’s all because of a particular and uncomfortable colonial history and we’re all part of that, we can’t change that, but we can change how we work in the future.”
Candler says his team has created a digital platform that allows homeowners and business owners to recognize Indigenous lands and the benefit of living and working on those lands. Online tools on the Reciprocity website allows participants to calculate a voluntary payment amount to be added to the Reciprocity Trusts for First Nations communities.
“Based on the value of your property, the reciprocity amount is dedicated to the Indigenous communities in the Greater Victoria area,” said Candler. “It’s rooted in the Douglas Treaties where there was supposed to be an annual recognition of Indigenous lands, a kind of rent that was paid, and that’s what we are trying to get back to.”
Candler says the average Victoria homeowner would pay be between $300 and $500 a year into the Reciprocity Trusts fund.
“Once someone makes a payment (to) Reciprocity Trusts, it goes to the South Island account,” said Candler. “That trust will distribute dollars to each of the Indigenous nations in the Capital Regional District and each nation will decide on how the they are put out.”
Candler says the voluntary payments are not a tax or a charity.
“Every time we step outside our backdoors, every time our property values go up, we’re benefiting from this relationship (with First Nations),” said Candler. “Reciprocity is just a way to recognize that.”
Candler says it is a new idea that comes out of the history of non-Indigenous people reaping the benefits of living and working on the lands of Indigenous peoples. He says the goal of the program is to get homeowners and businesses to think about how they are connected to colonialism.
“It’s a way to get the sharing of wealth that always should have been happening to happen,” said Candler. “It’s to support Indigenous languages, Indigenous land and nation-rebuilding.”
Candler says since the Reciprocity Trusts website was launched, more than 200 households and a number of businesses in Greater Victoria have pledged to make payments. He expects participating First Nations will begin to receive payment from the trusts by March 2022.
He says 10 First Nations have been invited to participate in the Reciprocity Trusts program and so far the T’Sou-ke and Songhees First Nations have expressed interest.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
AFN chief says Air Canada offered a 15% discount after her headdress was mishandled
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
DEVELOPING Bird flu outbreaks: WHO weighs in on public health risk
The current overall public health risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus is low, the World Health Organization said on Friday, but urged countries to stay alert for cases of animal-to-human transmission.