Vautours say they won't leave Kouchibouguac by Parks Canada deadline

Two of Jackie Vautour's family members still live on the land he fought to keep in Kouchibouguac National Park, and they don't plan on going anywhere, despite a Parks Canada deadline.

Parks Canada sent the Vautour family a letter this month requiring Jackie Vautour's wife and son to leave the 175 acres of land by March 31.

Jackie Vautour, who died last year, fought against the expropriation of land from 1,200 families to create the park more than 50 years ago. He continued to occupy the land after Kouchibouguac opened.

Parks Canada said it wants the occupation to end peacefully and it offered to help the family move their property and structures, according to a statement this week.

But Edmond Vautour, Jackie's son, said the family and supporters will be waiting on the land for whatever happens on March 31.

"I have no idea what will take place," he said.

Only his mother and his brother still live on the land, Vautour said, and while a camping trailer was on the land in the summer, it's no longer there. Aside from his father's camp, Vautour said, the only addition to the land is a teepee.

Parks Canada said that under an agreement with the New Brunswick government in 1987, Jackie Vautour said he would leave the land in exchange for 110 acres outside Kouchibouguac Park and $228,000.

"Mr. Vautour accepted the money and the land and signed this agreement, but refused to leave the park," the Parks Canada statement said. "The provision to remain, albeit illegally, in the national park applied only to Mr. Vautour and not to other members of the extended Vautour family."

Edmond Vautour said his father never made an agreement with Parks Canada, and that nothing should be done before the courts decide the issue.

Family wants court decision

The family's lawyer, Michael Swinwood of non-profit organization Elders Without Borders, wrote in a response to the eviction letter that the lands are currently in litigation in the Court of Queen's Bench in Moncton.

"Should you wish to deal in any way with the land, you must obtain permission of the trial court," he wrote to Parks Canada.

Vautour said Parks Canada hasn't responded to Swinwood's letter. The department said the Vautours have no cases before the courts regarding their occupation of park land.

Jackie Vautour filed a lawsuit in 2017 on behalf of more than 100 people claiming to be Métis Acadian Mi'kmaq whose lands were taken.

The federal and provincial governments argued the legal action was an attempt to relitigate something already decided by higher courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada.

Voutour appealed when the Court of Queen's Bench agreed with the government and dismissed the case. New Brunswick's Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal in 2021.

Now, his son said the family has gone too far to back down.

"What they're going to do to us, I don't know," he said. "We're all edgy with this, so nobody knows what could happen."