![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/songheestreaty.jpg\")
A map shows the proposed treaty lands for the Songhees First Nation. (Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation)<\/p>\n
Will those sites remain open to the public as part of the treaty? It\u2019s one of the major concerns swirling around the issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The short answer is: Mostly, yes. For now. Voluntarily by the nations. But they won\u2019t be under legal obligations to maintain public access in the future on what will effectively become their private lands.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a fairly complex answer at a time of intense public debate over Indigenous land issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Much of the uncertainty stems from last year\u2019s Cowichan Nation court victory on Aboriginal title that declared it a senior right to fee-simple private land. That\u2019s further complicated by public unease over ongoing closures at some provincial parks for exclusive First Nations cultural use, as well as backlash over failed reconciliation-driven changes by the NDP government to laws governing Crown land and heritage conservation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re at the stage right now where we\u2019re asking the public their advice,\u201d Indigenous Relations Minister Spencer Chandra Herbert said in an interview about the treaty.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are their thoughts? And then we hope to take the next stages after considering that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Te\u2019mexw Treaty talks began in 1995, with member nations the Malahat, Beecher Bay (SC\u2019I\u023aNEW\u0331), Songhees, Snaw-naw-as (Nanoose) and T\u2019Sou-ke. The treaty is now in the fifth of six stages, labelled by the province as \u201cnegotiations to finalize treaty<\/a>.\u201d The next step would be initialling the agreement and letting the member nations vote on its contents.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear if the B.C. or federal governments would, or even could, make any changes to the treaty based on any public concern heard now.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s lots of things we look at in the process,\u201d said Chandra Herbert. \u201cObviously I\u2019m interested in what the public has to say. We have legal obligations that we have to meet. But we want to do it in a way that brings everybody together.\u201d<\/p>\n The Hatley Castle grounds at Royal Roads are federally owned, and in addition to being a university are also a popular spot for hikes, garden tours and weddings. The Songhees Nation has an agreement with Royal Roads to continue to work together on public access, said Chandra Herbert.<\/p>\n From there, though, things get murky.<\/p>\n The B.C. government\u2019s own consultation document on the treaty contains a warning that not all of the around 30 federal and provincial blocks of land from Parksville to Victoria will stay open for non-Indigenous use, because under the treaty they will be considered the equivalent of private property of the nations.<\/p>\n \u201cThere may be other changes that could take some getting used to,\u201d the 2024 report reads<\/a>. \u201cFor instance, some lands in the proposed land package have been available for public use. Once those lands become treaty lands, there may be limited access or even no access for public use.\u201d<\/p>\n The report says the T\u2019Sou-ke and Songhees nations commit to maintaining public access to Sooke Mountain Provincial Park and Discovery Island Provincial Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n But it adds that they \u201care also committed to protecting their cultural, ecological and conservation values\u201d \u2014\u00a0which is similar language used by nations like the L\u00edl\u0313wat and N\u2019Quatqua First Nations to obtain annual public closures of popular Joffre Lakes Park for exclusive cultural use of nation members.<\/p>\n The full text of the draft treaty is not public, and is currently only available to members of the nations. It will allow for the nations to make their own laws over things like education, health care, and social development.<\/p>\n Songhees Chief Ron Sam, who is chief of negotiations for Te\u2019mexw, did not return a request for comment.<\/p>\n The Victoria parking lot at 430 Menzies St., beside the legislature, has an assessed value of $24.8 million. Located in James Bay, it would face density and height restrictions if purchased by a private developer.<\/p>\n However, the treaty exempts the nations from any municipal bylaws, local zoning or city council approvals on their newly-acquired lands.<\/p>\n \u201cWill local government bylaws apply to treaty land? No,\u201d reads the B.C. government consultation paper. \u201cTreaties recognize the inherent right of First Nations to self-govern. Te\u2019mexw Member Nations will create their own government laws on treaty lands to be regulated by the First Nation.\u201d<\/p>\n The same applies to the waterfront parking lot and docks at 1112 Wharf St., adjacent to Ship Point in Victoria. It\u2019s prime development land, currently assessed at $22.3 million. It could be developed by the Songhees Nation (which already has its own development corporation working on other downtown holdings) in whatever way it sees fit, right in the heart of the city\u2019s downtown.<\/p>\n Public land advocates take issue with that process.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the public would be quite surprised to know those pieces of land are going to be not just transferred but then open to essentially unrestricted development of any kind,\u201d said Caroline Elliott, a public land advocate<\/a>, co-founder of the Without Diminishment website<\/a>, and past candidate in May\u2019s BC Conservative leadership race.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a whole bunch of things there that I think the public doesn\u2019t realize is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n The government has said it conducted public consultation on the treaty, including six in-person open houses in 2026 that saw 563 attendees and two virtual open houses where 59 people logged in.<\/p>\n While Chandra Herbert said the treaty will help rectify past wrongs by \u201csettling a dispute\u201d with the nations, government documents define the Te\u2019mexw Treaty as a \u201cmodern treaty\u201d that does not extinguish Aboriginal rights and title claims over additional land in the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n In fact, discussion papers<\/a> on the treaty identify additional lands the nations would like to acquire in the future, including the privately-owned Gorge Vale Golf Course in Esquimalt, as well as large swaths of Department of National Defence land in Colwood, parts of provincial parks in East Sooke, the federal land where William Head federal correctional institution currently stands, and more.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Royal-Roads-University-Hatley-Castle-01-Pescod-CHEK.jpg\")
Hatley Castle at Royal Roads University is pictured. (Photo: Nicholas Pescod)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/jamesbay.jpg\")
(Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation)<\/p>\n