The Town of Ladysmith has notified the province that it’s giving up its lease at year’s end on a water lot that now houses a community marina, paving the way for the province to sign a new lease with the Stz’uminus First Nation.
The move was expected under a reconciliation agreement signed with the province last year.
The town has been leasing the water lot since 1999. The Ladysmith Maritime Society has a licence of occupation and operating agreement with the town allowing it to run the Ladysmith Community Marina, but in November, the town gave the society an eviction notice for the end of this year.
In a July 5 letter to the Ministry of Forests, the town said that it was abandoning its lease on Dec. 31.
It said all improvements on the site would become the property of the province.
A spokesperson for the nation could not be reached Tuesday.
Kelly Daniels, president of the Ladysmith Maritime Society, said its attempts to set up talks with Stz’uminus Nation have not been successful.
The society sent a letter to the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation a couple of weeks ago asking if it would facilitate meetings with the nation to try and reach an agreement about use of the water lot, but there has been no response, Daniels said.
He is not surprised the town sent the letter ending its lease to the province, saying the move was expected.
A petition urging the province to arrange meetings between the parties with the aim of working together has garnered 1,405 signatures online. One of the organizers, Rob Pinkerton, said there are likely several hundred more on a written petition posted in the community.
Backed by volunteers, the society has turned the marina into a successful venture, a destination for visitors that also offers a range of special events.
The marina has about 170 pleasure craft mooring annually, a dozen liveaboards, and about 900 feet of dock for visiting vessels. Tenants are wondering what will happen when the lease changes hands.
Between May and September every year, about 3,500 boats stop in from as far away as California, said society chief executive Richard Wiefelspuett.
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