A roadblock on the Halalt First Nation on Vancouver Island is down. But the band’s Chief James Thomas warns that protests could continue if issues surrounding water use aren’t resolved, the Toronto Globe & Mail reports here.

The band started the blockade after the town of North Cowichan tapped into an aquifer that feeds the the Chemainus River.

Now the tribe and the township have agreed to start talks on a watershed management plan:

“A watershed plan will have to address things like North Cowichan’s official community plan and how growth and development impacts the water supply, our fisheries and the entire ecosystem,” said Mr. Thomas.

He said the band wants to ensure it has a direct say in the use of water from the aquifer.

A few days after the roadblock was put up racist slogans were spray painted on the front of a Halalt building, triggering an RCMP investigation of a possible hate crime. No charges have been laid.

Gwen Florio

Tags: buffalo post, Chemainus River, Chief James Thomas, Gwen Florio, Halalt First Nation, hate crimes, Native American news, North Cowichan, Royal Canadian Mounted Police