B.C. port firm faces lawsuit by B.C. First Nation over disruption of ancestral remains

A file photo shows a statue inside the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, B.C.

The Bonaparte First Nation in British Columbia's Interior is suing a shipping port company and several others, claiming railway infrastructure development has destroyed and disturbed its ancestral burial grounds.

In a notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court, the First Nation says Ashcroft Terminals Ltd. and defendants that include the provincial and federal governments, misled the band about the scope of construction activities for a 300-acre railway terminal port.

The lawsuit alleges the terminal is on the site of Bonaparte's historical village, which carries deep spiritual and cultural significance to the band and its members.

The First Nation says the site contains “numerous” burial grounds and carbon dating places the Bonaparte on the territory dating back nearly 8,000 years.

The lawsuit says Ashcroft Terminal's construction and excavation activities have disturbed human remains and other archeologically significant artifacts on the site.

The lawsuit says the provincial and federal governments failed to adequately consult the band about the project, but none of the allegations have been proven in court and the defendants have yet to file responses to the claim in court.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.