Monitoring & Enforcement
While the Heiltsuk, Kitasoo Xai’xais, Nuxalk and Wuikinuxv have always maintained that we have sovereign right to rule our territories, other levels of government do not recognize this right. This lack of recognition affects all Central Coast First Nations’ management and is a considerable barrier to effective management of our territorial resources.
Monitoring and enforcement of resource use in Central Coast First Nations territories requires staff, training, agreed upon authority, transportation, facilities, equipment and capital. It is highly preferable to have Central Coast personnel in monitoring and enforcement positions, as they bring cultural and local knowledge to the positions, have more credibility with the community, and are likely to have lower turnover rates.
Successful implementation of our plan requires that the Central Coast First Nations are able to directly enforce our plans, laws, policies and guidelines. Such an arrangement would require a tripartite enforcement network established through a memorandum of understanding between our Nations and various government enforcement agencies.
