https://nationalpost.com/opinion/bc-hatley-castle-parts-of-downtown-victoria-earmarked-for-transfer-to-first-nations
“There will be nothing left of B.C. by the time the NDP are finished with their plan to giveaway land that rightfully belongs to the people of British Columbia,” wrote B.C. Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay.

The government document warns that the land transfers may ‘take some getting used to,’ as they cover public lands that could end up sealed off from public access.

An internal B.C. document has revealed the extent of the province’s plans to cede more than 120,000 hectares of Crown land to First Nations control, including prominent landmarks around the provincial capital of Victoria.

In the case of Victoria, this means that some of the most prime development land in the city could become Indigenous-controlled properties exempted from local bylaws, approvals and building codes.

Local government bylaws do not apply on treaty lands,” reads a May 2024 consultation paper published by the B.C. government.
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That same document warns that the land transfers may “take some getting used to,” as they cover public lands that could end up sealed off from public access.
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“Once those lands become treaty lands, there may be limited access or even no access for public use,” it reads.

The largest of the itemized cessions is 35,290 hectares earmarked for the Kitselas First Nation and 45,789 hectares for the Kitsumkalum First Nation. Both are located near Terrace, B.C., and comprise a total membership of about 1,500 people.

In many of the transfers, First Nations stand to receive territory well beyond the size of their existing reserve lands. And, unlike reserve lands, these would effectively be held as fee-simple territories.
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Among the most valuable cessions is the 1,916.7 hectares set aside for the Te’mexw Treaty Association, a coalition of five First Nations on Southern Vancouver Island.

Under terms being negotiated by the B.C. government, it would become a fee-simple possession of the 600-member Songhees First Nation.
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The Songhees would also take possession of two parcels of land in Downtown Victoria, including a parking lot across from the B.C. Parliament Buildings with an assessed value of $24.8 million, and a nearby waterfront parking lot assessed at $22.3 million.
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As treaty lands, both parcels could be developed without city council oversight. A good analogue being the recently completed Sen̓áḵw development in Vancouver; a compound of skyscrapers comprising 6,000 rental units that was able to exceed the usual local controls on density due its being located on Songhees First Nation land.”