Vancouver’s liberals support indigenous sovereignty over native lands. Wait, no: not like that! City dwellers are reportedly perturbed that indigenous First Nations are using their land for a massive urban development. The plan is to build some 13,000 units throughout 11 towers in the heart of Vancouver, which will be the densest housing in Canada; the land is under Squamish rule and thus not subject to the city’s zoning laws.
“Many Canadians believe the purpose of reconciliation is not to uphold Indigenous rights and sovereignty, but to quietly scrub centuries of colonial residue from the landscape, ultimately in service of their own aesthetic preferences and personal interests,” one op-ed read.
Tall buildings are simply not aligned with “indigenous ways of being”, non-native city leaders have argued. Widespread objections to the development are of course rooted in an earnest desire for natives to live their best lives. The impact the development could have on home values in the pricey, beachfront neighbourhood is entirely unrelated.
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