Former Musqueam chief Delbert V. Guerin was remembered May 16 during a morning memorial at the Musqueam Community Centre. Father Paul Smith led the Catholic service for Guerin, a former log salvager, commercial fisherman, longshoreman and aboriginal rights activist who was known nationwide for a precedent-setting legal challenge over leasing land to the Shaugnessy Golf and Country Club.
The decision in the Supreme Court of Canada held the federal government accountable for failing to protect the interests of the Musqueam, and helped establish aboriginal rights and title in Canada. Guerin, who died May 11, is survived by his wife Frances, five children, two adopted nephews and three grand-children.
