Developer refutes First Nation claims at Tranquille site in Kamloops
The developer behind the massive proposed rebuild of Tranquille is pushing back against claims made by Secwepemc leaders about the land and its institutional past.
Ignition Developments said the province has been "strategically manipulated" by Stk'emlupsemc te Secwepemc's "abuse of process" as the First Nation pleas to the BC government for an environmental assessment of the Tranquille site.
The developer has been planning to redevelop the property for years, which includes an ageing and long-shuttered medical institution, along with an abandoned community. It's now up against Stk'emlupsemc te Secwepemc as the First Nation government appeals to the province.
Stk'emlupsemc te Secwepemc (SSN), a joint entity of the Skeetchestn Indian Band and Tk'emlups te Secwepemc, exists in part to assert title rights over unceded lands in the region. It has "repeatedly" expressed concern with the Tranquille project since at least 2021, according to its application for an environmental assessment.
SSN made several claims about the property in asserting reasons for an assessment, which Ignition did not respond to in detail when reached by iNFOnews.ca earlier this year.
But Ignition did respond to the province to refute SSN's claims, according to provincial government records.
READ MORE: Environmental assessment could delay Tranquille development another five years
What appears to be the most concerning claim was that SSN has "reasons to believe" Secwepemc children and those of other Nations were "forced to transfer" from the Kamloops Indian Residential School to Tranquille, adding that some may have died there. SSN wanted time and funds to investigate a "possible connection" between the two historical sites.
Ignition's research of government records, news reports and other media found there have been "no facts found to support the claim" that residential school students were transferred there, according to its response to the province.
The company went further to say it has "no obligation" to provide funding or opportunity to the First Nation government to research the "possible connection."
Ignition also said the government kept "very precise records" which have all been removed from the buildings in response to SSN's claim that demolishing the buildings will "destroy evidence" of what occurred at the sanitorium and former tuberculosis.
SSN also said the it hasn't been adequately consulted, while highlighting an iNFOnews.ca story from February in which Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson urged the province to reduce red tape in the Tranquille project, which "suggests to them that the City has already decided the project should move forward making it less likely that the City will consult adequately with SSN."
Ignition said it couldn't speak to the City's ability to consult, but did say its team spent 21 months waiting for SSN to respond to 30 requests for meetings, then claimed SSN has attempted to "stall and derail" Ignition's efforts by interfering in provincial water permits.
The company also refuted SSN's multiple concerns of species at risk in the area, including plants and animals, to which Ignition said it will follow environmental regulations if there are risks of disturbing habitats.
SSN has further information it plans to submit to the province supporting its plea for an environmental assessment, but it wants to keep it confidential, according to a letter from the environmental assessment office.
READ MORE: PADOVA CITY: Political, economic scandal once loomed over Kamloops Tranquille farm
Although the province could accept confidential information to help make a decision, SSN also wants to keep it from Ignition, and the province said it would be unfair to allow that. SSN was given until July 26 to decide whether it would allow Ignition to see the confidential information, otherwise the province would move forward without it.
It's not clear when the province will decide whether or not an environmental assessment is necessary.
READ MORE: The deep, dark and mysterious history of Tranquille Sanatorium and psychiatric institution
The Tranquille site has long been eyed for redevelopment and Ignition is the second company to plan for its rebuild since the medical institution was closed in the 1980s.
It's a sprawling site on the western edge of Kamloops city limits, bordered by Tranquille River and Kamloops Lake. It once hosted two ranches in the late 1800s before the province built a tuberculosis hospital on the property, which transitioned in the 1960s to a mental health institution.
Eventually supporting a community, it also featuring farms and a fire department, and there were several homes built around the institution where working families would live until it was shuttered.
Ignition plans to build a "resort-like" community with up to 2,000 homes, which would feature vineyards and farms surrounding the residential neighbourhood.
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