Question Period Note: Kouchibouguac National Park Illegal Occupation Notice

Kouchibouguac National Park Illegal Occupation Notice

• Parks Canada manages Kouchibouguac National Park on behalf of all Canadians. It is time to bring a safe and peaceful closure to the illegal occupation of the park.
• Parks Canada sent a letter to Vautour family members illegally occupying the park requesting they remove all belongings and structures by March 31, 2022.
• In 1987, the Government of New Brunswick compensated Mr. Jackie Vautour with a payment of $228,000 and 110 acres of land outside the park. Mr. Vautour signed an agreement and accepted compensation but refused to leave.
• Parks Canada has offered to help the Vautour family relocate their belongings. So far, this offer has been declined.
Claims of Indigenous Rights
• Recently, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal upheld an earlier court decision dismissing the Vautour portion of a claim seeking Indigenous title and rights to Kouchibouguac National Park.

The Creation of Kouchibouguac National Park
• On October 13, 1969, Canada and the Government of New Brunswick entered into an agreement for the creation of Kouchibouguac National Park.
• The Province of New Brunswick expropriated the lands of 228 households. The New Brunswick Court of Appeal has determined that this expropriation was lawful.

• Following the 1969 and 1970 acquisition of private lands by the Province of New Brunswick, the lands were duly transferred to the Federal Government in 1978.

• Kouchibouguac National Park was proclaimed a national park by the Government of Canada on January 15, 1979 and again in 1982.

Former Residents

• Over time, all former residents vacated the national park with the exception of Mr. Jackie Vautour and his family. Families were provided compensation for their homes and property.

• From 1970 to 1978, after several years of unsuccessful negotiations with Mr. Vautour, the Province of New Brunswick was under legal obligation to give the Federal Government vacant possession of the park area.

• In November 1976, the house of Mr. Vautour was demolished.

Compensation to the Vautour Family

• In addition to the compensation provided to other families, Mr. Vautour was compensated by the Government of New Brunswick for the expropriated land in 1987, through an agreement with Premier Richard Hatfield.

• The compensation included two parcels of land (totaling 110 acres) outside of Kouchibouguac National Park and a sum of $228,000, significantly more than the average amount received by the other expropriates.

The La Forest – Roy Special Inquiry Report on Kouchibouguac National Park

• Compensation and rights of former residents of Kouchibouguac National Park were addressed by the Province of New Brunswick, the courts, and the recommendations of the La Forest – Roy Special Inquiry Report on Kouchibouguac National Park (1981).

• Despite a court order in the late 1970s directing Mr. Vautour to quit his occupation of the park, Parks Canada respected a recommendation in the La Forest-Roy Special Commission Report stating that Parks Canada could allow Mr. Vautour’s presence on the land, on sufferance, provided he stayed within the law in other respects and did not use the site as a base for action against the park.

Unlawful Occupation

• The provision in the La Forest-Roy to remain, albeit unlawfully, in the national park, applied to Mr. Vautour only and not to other members of the extended Vautour family.

• With the death of Mr. Vautour on February 7, 2021, this arrangement is at an end.

• On April 6, 2021, Parks Canada wrote to Mrs. Vautour, with an offer to provide assistance to relocate any personal effects and buildings outside the national park. To date, this offer has been declined.

• On January 17, 2022, Parks Canada wrote to various members of the Vautour family advising them to remove their belongings and structures from the national park by March 31, 2022. The offer to assist the family in removing their belongings stands.

Current Legal Context

• Jackie Vautour, on behalf of himself and 98 families claiming “Métis-Acadien” status, and Stephen Augustine (who says he is a Hereditary Chief representing the Mi’kmaq of the Sigenigteouk District), filed a Statement of Claim in 2019 against the Government of Canada and the Province of New Brunswick in the New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench. They were claiming Indigenous rights in and title to Kouchibouguac National Park.

• In 2020, the New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench accepted the motions to dismiss the claim of Mr. Vautour and the 98 families from the Province of New Brunswick and the Government of Canada.

• The New Brunswick Court of Appeal has upheld the decision to dismiss the Vautour portion of the claim seeking Indigenous title and rights to Kouchibouguac National Park.

None