Indigenous Stewards on BC’s Coast Left in the Dark as Sun Sets on Federal Guardianship Program

By Hope Lompe, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer

The Enhanced Nature Legacy fund is scheduled to sunset on Mar. 31, potentially affecting hundreds of jobs — and for those affected, there’s no word yet on what will happen afterward. 

Indigenous Nations are bracing for a funding cut to their stewardship offices and guardian programs as the Carney government signals another departure from Trudeau-era environmental policies. 

The Hill Times reported earlier this month that federal estimates show conservation funding is set to be reduced from $953 million in 2025-26 to $366 million in 2026-27.

“Definitely a lot of concern out there, because there’s a lot of implementation dollars on the table [and] we haven’t been told [if] Canada is not renewing some of it,” said Dallas Smith, president of the Nanwakolas Council which is made up of six member Nations on northern Vancouver Island and the BC coast. 

“But with the drastic budget cuts that they’re looking at, unfortunately, nature seems to be one of the first casualties,” he said. 

The 2021 Enhanced Nature Legacy fund set aside $2.3 billion to conserve up to 1 million square kilometers of land and inland waters, create thousands of jobs and support Indigenous guardians. Canada has made a pledge internationally to preserve 30 per cent of its land and of its coastal, marine and inland waters by 2030. 

Although Smith said the Nanwakolas Council has funding partners besides the federal government, not all First Nations and guardianship programs do and keeping those afloat could be a challenge depending on the depth of the fiscal cuts. 

He said there are a lot of communities growing their programs, and while they’re not yet hitting the panic button, there is substantial fear they won’t be able to grow to the point where they can meet their goals and manage the change.

Another concern is the loss of the practical service guardians and stewardship offices provide. 

“They’re responsible for so much. They’re our eyes and ears out on the ground,” said Smith.

Guardians on Northern Vancouver Island and the central coast work with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to monitor coastal activity, including marine industry rule compliance and tracking wildlife, said Mark Kenny, lands and resources manager with the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Nations, a territory of close to 400,000 hectares. 

“There’s nobody out there,” Kenny said. “We get over there and we have a look around and make sure everything’s in order … because there’s lots of things to pill for, like fish logs and whatever has value, right?”

Some guardians programs have even had authorities delegated to them by other levels of government. For example, Nuxalk guardians in Bella Coola and Kitasoo / Xai’xais guardians in Klemtu have been given the authority of fisheries officers and can write tickets for offences such as poaching. 

Other programs have patrolled tens of thousands of square kilometres of coastal area, keeping visitors safe and monitoring for illegal activity in places where federal and provincial resources are stretched thin.

“What these funds have really done is given resources for First Nations to be able to be more fully informed and equal participants in processes, and build their ability to participate properly in a proper collaborative way,” said Garry Merkel, director of the University of British Columbia (UBC) Centre of Indigenous Land Stewardship. 

“In terms of building … intergovernmental relationships, and bringing First Nations up to work with other governments, and other governments giving us the room to all be able to work together, these programs have been invaluable for that,” he said. 

In an email to Canada’s National Observer, Keean Nembhard, press secretary to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) Minister Julie Dabrusin, said the government will continue to partner with Indigenous peoples and other stakeholders to advance conservation targets.

Nembhard did not answer how many jobs are reliant on this funding, or if the funding will specifically be cut from Indigenous Nations or guardians, but says they will have more to share soon. 

However, with only days remaining before the legacy fund sunsets, Smith said First Nations still do not know what the new nature strategy looks like and expect to be consulted before a final decision is made. 

“If a fundamental decision, that would cut literally tens of millions of dollars, out of a program that we’ve all bought into … if they make a decision like that without talking to some of their partners who’ve helped build that path with them, it would be quite disappointing,” Smith said.