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"B.C. Attorney General and Sun Peaks Resort Celebrate International Human Rights Day by Forcibly Removing Secwepemc from their Lands"

Skwelkwekwelt, Secwepemc Territory - International Human Rights Day is on December 10 and that is the day an enforcement order will be used to once again evict Secwepemc people from their homelands.

The court ruled that Sun Peaks Ski Resort and the Province of B. C. would suffer the most harm if our people were allowed to remain in our homelands. This decision does not surprise us since we know that the Province, Sun Peaks, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have orchestrated a fine tuned strategy to effectively remove us from our lands using lies and deception.

We have lived on our lands and taken care of them for thousands of years. We have, and still do, practice our basic human right to gather foods from our lands. Our people depend on the wild game and foods on the land for our basic needs yet the Court determined Sun Peaks customers and others would be more harmed if they can cannot continue to ski and snowmobile and recreate in lands we use for food gathering and for living on. Our occupation on our lands did not interfere in any way with Sun Peaks or the public's activities.

This decision effectively left a young family with 2 and 10 year old children homeless so that Sun Peaks customers can use MacGillvray lake for purely recreation purposes.

The Elders, land-users, and youth will continue to protect our lands from destruction and to assert our title and rights to our lands despite the incredible odds facing us. We will plan actions to deliver our message throughtout Canada, United States, and internationally so the whole world knows the atrocious Human Rights record of British Columbia and Canada.

For more information contact; Janice Billy, by cell phone: 250-318-4290.