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“Normally, one would expect the minister to take into consideration a full range of views and information before reaching a decision as significant as this closure plan,” the Malahat Nation wrote in its letter to Horgan, which was copied to the province’s chief treaty negotiator and other ministers.

“Unfortunately, we have no idea what he considered because ministry staff never consulted with us in any manner to either share their information or hear our views and concerns. We received no correspondence, no phone calls, no emails, no texts, no requests of any sort to schedule a meeting or seek our feedback. Nothing.

“We learned about the decision itself only after the fact. There was no warning or advance noticed despite its obviously implications for our lands.

“In an era in which the province is clearly striving to improve its relationship with Indigenous people, this oversight is a stunning black mark.”

The First Nation wants government to suspend the closure plan until it can explore alternative solutions.

Cowichan Valley Green MLA Sonia Furstenau said the Malahat Nation makes valid points.

“I think they are very serious concerns that have been raised,” Furstenau said. “I’d really hope the government takes these concerns and what’s been raised in these letters seriously.”

The Shawnigan Lake dump site is politically significant. Furstenau — a leading critic of the site since 2013 — won the Cowichan Valley riding from the NDP in the 2017 B.C. election. Her anger over how the previous Liberal government ignored community concerns helped sway the Greens into a power-sharing deal that toppled the minority Liberals and put the NDP into power following the election.