Vautour family plans to stand ground as deadline to leave Kouchibouguac arrives
CBC
Members of the late Jackie Vautour's family say they have no plan to willingly leave an area of Kouchibouguac National Park, despite a Thursday deadline to do so from Parks Canada.
"I'm always going to be here because this is my home — always was," said Joseph John Vautour Jr., son of Jackie Vautour, in an interview Wednesday.
The possible showdown is the latest development in a decades-long dispute over a 175-acre piece of land in northeastern New Brunswick, following a letter from Parks Canada telling the family they had to be off the property by March 31.
Jackie Vautour, who died last year, fought against the expropriation of land from 1,200 families more than 50 years ago. The land expropriation was part of the creation of Kouchibouguac National Park.
In 2017, Vautour filed a lawsuit saying he represented more than 100 people claiming to be Metis Acadian Mi'kmaq, seeking rights and title to the park area under the Canadian constitution.
That claim was dismissed first by the Court of Queen's Bench, and then by the New Brunswick Court of Appeal last year.
But Vautour continued to live in a camp on the property until his death.
The property includes the same camp Jackie Vautour once lived in, along with an RV, a portable toilet, a teepee and three other camps on the opposite side of the road.
CBC News visited the site on Wednesday and met Joseph John Vautour Jr., who has lived in the camp since his father died just over a year ago.
He said he doesn't plan to willingly leave the site if officials show up Thursday.
"I'm not afraid, and at my age, I'm going to die someday, so why should I be afraid?" he said.
"I grew up here and everything that I see around here I know — the trail, I can go hunting, I can do different things. It's peace of mind."
Edmond Vautour, another of Jackie Vautour's sons, said his 88-year-old mother used to live in the camp year-round with her husband, but for now only visits on weekends and will return when the weather warms up.
"This is my mother, that's where she lives and that's where she wants to be," Vautour said.
