As an agreement to recognize the Haida Nation’s Aboriginal title throughout Haida Gwaii was celebrated in the B.C. legislature Monday, BC United cautioned that the party plans to carefully scrutinize and fully debate the bill.

Council of the Haida Nation president Gaagwiis, Jason Alsop, said he hopes parties won’t use the agreement as a political weapon ahead of the provincial election.

It’s an important step forward, he said, and for the opposition, part of the process will be “accepting the truth that it’s Haida title land and… we need to get on with figuring things out together.”

Michael Lee, BC United’s critic for Indigenous relations and reconciliation, spoke for the official Opposition in the legislature.

“I congratulate the Haida Nation for reaching this stage, but I hope you’ll appreciate the role that we need to continue to play in the next stages of this review of this bill,” he said.

Lee referred to a statement he and BC United Leader Kevin Falcon made on March 22 calling for a pause on the process and warning that the Haida agreement signalled “a dramatic departure from constitutional frameworks and established jurisprudence.”