The Comox Valley Regional District is apologizing to the K’omoks First Nation after heritage sites were damaged.
The incident happened in the fall of last year during construction of the Denman Cross Island Trail when registered and unregistered K’omoks Cultural Heritage sites were damaged.
The district says this caused unnecessary harm to the nation and they are aiming to avoid situations like this from happening again.
District chair Will Cole-Hamilton says they deeply regret this incident.
“At the same time, we know that once a site is disturbed the damage is irreparable and that piece of history is lost forever,” said Cole-Hamilton.
“That is why we must take all necessary steps to ensure that we are following the correct processes to prevent something like this from happening again.”
They say internal process errors were what led to the damage.
Since last fall, the District has been working through a restorative justice process with the First Nation to not only investigate the site but to also find and use remedial actions.
This includes offsetting costs from the incident, donating to the K’omoks First Nation’s repatriation process, and educating their staff on the Nation’s Cultural Heritage Policy permitting process.
They hope these actions can help both parties move forward and have a strong working relationship.
