VANCOUVER, B.C.—For years, the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) has been located on Sea Island in the Fraser River, which is traditional Musqueam territory. And now the Musqueam First Nation is not only receiving recognition of that fact, but will benefit financially.
The federal government has announced an agreement to share revenue generated by Vancouver International Airport ground lease revenues with the Musqueam First Nation. The deal is being heralded as the first major federal government infrastructure to have any form of Indigenous revenue sharing.
Musqueam Coun. Wendy John, of the Musqueam First Nation, noted that the government " has said for years that we don't even own the land. And now they're saying not only are we recognizing in an incremental way your rights and title, we're going to share, as we should have been all along, the revenue that's generated off your asset of owning that land."
The federal government controls the land and collects lease revenue from the Vancouver Airport Authority.
"This is a monumental step forward," said Gary Anandasangaree, minister of Crown-Indigenous relations and northern affairs. "The revenue-sharing agreement represents a key milestone in our shared journey to reconciliation."
While details of the agreement are being kept confidential, the revenue generated is expected to be a substantial sum for the First Nation. In 2017, YVR gave one percent of its annual gross revenue to the Musquem, which equaled $5 million that year.
