Musqueam Community Plan

This winter we held our third round of family gatherings for our community plan. Members were extremely supportive of our “Heart of the Community” land use plan concept, and this was used to help Musqueam successfully bid on the Four Host Aboriginal Pavilion, which will be our new Cultural Education Centre and will be located across from the new Community Centre. Site preparation has also begun for the new Sports Field on the 5-acre site.

There will be a New Projects Open House on May 6th from 3 to 7pm in the Administration Building.
 

Preparing for Tomorrow

In January, a Self-Governance Special Committee was formed. By negotiating a Self-Governance Framework, Musqueam seeks to develop a new relationship between Musqueam and Canada, including certainty with respect to the authority and jurisdiction of Musqueam’s government. Ongoing engagement with the Musqueam community will begin with an Elders Lunch on Wednesday May 5th from 12 to 2 pm.

Garden City Lands Update

In March 2005, Musqueam entered into a MOU partnership with Richmond and Canada Lands Company (CLC) to share in the benefits of ownership. (The MOU included removal from the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) and rezoning for residential / commercial use. Attempts to remove the lands from the ALR failed.) Last October, Richmond sent an unsolicited offer to purchase the property from Musqueam and CLC for $59.7 million. This March, the sale to Richmond completed, with an agreement to exchange a property owned by CLC for part of Musqueam’s equity in the Garden City Lands. On April 27, CLC transferred ownership of the Nokia building in Burnaby, which will generate annual income to Musqueam of $1.7million. In consideration of Richmond’s behavior under the terms of its agreement - and the prospects of its future actions related to the property - Musqueam has commenced legal action to protect remaining interests in the MOU.