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Point missed giving royal assent for trip to Williams Lake, not Europe

Reporters who noted Lieutenant Governor Steven Point's absence when it came time to give royal assent to bills at the closing of the legislative session this week were incorrectly told he was in Europe.

Point, a former Stó:lō chief, missed giving assent to the Yale First Nation Final Agreement Act, a bill that has been vocally opposed by Stó:lō representatives who say it infringes on their people's rights. It was one of 14 bills that received royal assent on June 2.

While the Lieutenant Governor normally gives royal assent as Queen Elizabeth II's representative in the province, in his absence Chief Justice Lance Finch performed the function.

A government official who works closely with house leader Rich Coleman said Point was in Europe and had been for four weeks. Independent MLA Bob Simpson, who voted against the Yale treaty because of the Stó:lō concerns, said he got the same answer about Point's whereabouts from speaker Bill Barisoff.

Simpson found that odd, he said, considering his in-laws had been at a Rotary Club dinner with Point in Quesnel on June 1 and the Williams Lake Tribune has reported Point opened a library in nearby Toosey on May 31.

Indeed, an official at Government House confirmed today, "His Honour is currently up in the Quesnel/Williams Lake area visiting communities and speaking to them about his literacy program. The four-day trip had been planned for several months."

Point had been on holiday, but returned last week, she said. His absence from the legislature was because of the commitment in Williams Lake and had nothing to do with the bills that required royal assent, she said.

Calls to government officials seeking an explanation for the discrepancy were not immediately returned.

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.


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