Restoring Vancouver Island Rail is a matter of reconciliation with indigenous Communities

While the Island Corridor Foundation is not involved with the process of reconciliation with First Nations, they did lay the foundations for that dialog to begin.

Reconciliation is a tough topic to engage in, and we know that process happens between the Vancouver Island Indigenous communities and the Provincial and Federal Governments, no one else. Not ICF, not IRC, not FORTVI, and certainly not me.

I recall that the B.C. Government came to the table when last year's petition hit 5000 supporters, and then the Federal Government came when it hit 6000. By the time 14 Mar 2023 came, the previous deadline from the Snaw-Naw-As court appeal, that petition reached 10,400 supporters.

It's now Oct 2023, and the new 2023 Change Petition (https://chng.it/HTPJ25CqPr) is already at over 5740 supporters, and the Petition going directly to the House of Commons is over 860 signatures. https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-4576

Returning and founding Director Judith Sayers states “It is a long journey to maximize the value of the Island Corridor, especially for First Nation communities. By working collaboratively with all stakeholders, we are confident that the value and use of the corridor will only increase over the coming years”.

The Petition first seeks to have the Governments "Work with dedicated resources and with a nation-to-nation approach to reconcile and resolve long-standing First Nations’ concerns with certain sections of the Island Corridor"

Sign on, by doing so you are supporting something that will be amazing if they can make a deal, here's hoping cooler heads prevail and we have a fully operational railway again.

Restore Island Rail
https://restoreislandrail.com
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YouTube: https://youtu.be/n2HHmEe9O_k?si=8Ej0IctuUe89EH_L