1995 Annual Report

203 –1155 W. Pender St. Vancouver B.C. V6E 2P4 604 482 9200, Fax 604 482 9222 [email protected]. www.bctreaty.net Annual Report 1995 Former Commissioners’ Remarks The British Columbia Treaty Commission has entered its third year as the facilitator of treaty making in British Columbia. Under an agreement signed by three Principals-the Governments of Canada and British Columbia and the First Nations Summit-the Treaty Commission is required to submit an annual report to the Principals on the progress of negotiations and on the operations of the Commission. This Annual Report also serves to provide information to the public about the role of the B.C. Treaty Commission and the status of the treaty negotiation process in British Columbia. Annual financial statements have been prepared to coincide with the March 31 fiscal year-end of the Governments of Canada and British The process Columbia. The financial statements for the fiscal year ended March 31, provides a solid 1995 are submitted as a separate document. structure for negotiations, but It is our pleasure to submit this second Annual Report of the British the relationships Columbia Treaty Commission. upon which this process is based This is an historic process. Finally, First Nations have been able to sit at are fragile. a table with senior representatives of Canada and British Columbia, and begin to discuss issues which have been unresolved for over 140 years. The process provides a solid structure for negotiations, but the relationships upon which this process is based are fragile. This makes the process itself fragile, and all parties must be very careful about how they proceed down this difficult path. First Nations have expressed their clear goals to preserve and protect their cultures. All cultures are based on the past, and the past can never be forgotten. But all parties must be able to build on the foundations of the past towards new and better relationships. All of the Commissioners believe in this process, and that the challenges we face now and in the future can be met with clear resolve, mutual respect, cooperation and understanding among all those involved. 203 –1155 W. Pender St. Vancouver B.C. V6E 2P4 604 482 9200, Fax 604 482 9222 [email protected]. www.bctreaty.net Annual Report 1995 1994 – 1995 in Review The role of the B.C. Treaty Commission is to facilitate and manage a six-stage process to negotiate treaties in British Columbia. The process is to be voluntary, fair, impartial, effective and understandable. THE COMMISSIONERS The first Commissioners were appointed on April 15, 1993. First they established the Commission's policies, initial procedures and priorities. Then the Commission invited First Nations to enter the process, starting December 15, 1993. By June 15, 1994, six months after the process was opened, 41 First Nations had chosen to come to the negotiating table. These First Nations were identified in the first Annual Report of the Commission. A number of changes took place within the Commission: - CJ. (Chuck) Connaghan, who served as the first Chief Commissioner, retired from that post on December 31, 1994. - Mr. Connaghan was succeeded by Alec C. Robertson, Q.C., who took office on May 15,1995. In the interim, Barbara L. Fisher served as Acting Chief Commissioner; - Commissioners Dr. Lorne Greenaway and Art Sterritt retired from the Commission on April 14, 1995, at the end of their terms of appointment; - Dr. Peter Lusztig was appointed to the Commission by Canada, Wilf Adam was elected and Carole Corcoran was re-elected by the First Nations Summit; and, - Barbara Fisher was reappointed by B.C. THE SIX STAGES The process has six stages as follows: 1. The Statement of Intent 2. Preparation for Negotiations 3. Negotiation of a Framework Agreement 4. Negotiation of an Agreement in Principle 5. Negotiation to Finalize a Treaty 6. Implementation of the Treaty STATUS OF THE PROCESS There are 43 First Nations in the process. This number reflects several changes in the composition of some First Nations since the first Annual Report. The Commissioners expect more First Nations to enter the process in the year ahead. At the end of the Commission's second year of operation, all Commissioners agree that, overall, significant progress has been made. In less than 18 months, representatives of over 65% of the First Nations' population in the province have come to the table to begin negotiating treaties with the Governments of Canada and British Columbia. Until this time, only one First Nation, the Nisga'a, had been at a modern treaty table. The Nisga'a were the first to begin negotiating under Canada's Comprehensive Claims Policy (1976), and they continue in their negotiations outside the Treaty Commission process. Of the 43 First Nations in this process, seven have completed Stage 2 preparations and have progressed with the other two parties into Stage 3, Framework Agreement negotiations. Eleven other First Nations have substantially completed Stage 2 and are working with the federal and provincial negotiators to complete procedural arrangements. Most of these 18 First Nations are expecting to move into Stage 4, substantive Agreement in Principle negotiations, during 1995 - 96. The remaining 25 First Nations in the process are proceeding through Stage 2 and most expect to reach Stage 3 during the year ahead. This is solid evidence that the B.C. Treaty Commission process is working. At the same time, significant challenges have faced the Commission, the Principals and the parties to the negotiations. These challenges include: - Ways to negotiate interim measures agreements so that First Nations interests which may be affected have adequate protection while treaty negotiations proceed; - The need for further public information and education; - The need for continuing consultation by the Governments of Canada and British Columbia with non-aboriginal interests; - A funding program which must allow First Nations to prepare for and negotiate on an equal footing with Canada and British Columbia; - How to manage a process effectively where so many negotiations will be conducted at the same time; and - The need for the Government of Canada to enact legislation creating the B.C. Treaty Commission as a legal entity. 203 –1155 W. Pender St. Vancouver B.C. V6E 2P4 604 482 9200, Fax 604 482 9222 [email protected]. www.bctreaty.net Annual Report 1995 Why Are We Negotiating Treaties? An Historical View It is important for the public to understand the Commission's role in an historic context. In carrying out their duties during the past year, the Commissioners traveled widely in the province and met many individuals and groups of British Columbians. Time and again, Commissioners found people much more willing to accept and support this treaty-making process once they became familiar with the history of the relationship between First Nations and the federal and provincial governments. That relationship has been a troubled one. This was noted in the historic 1991 Report of the British Columbia Claims Task Force. The Task Force Report called for "a new relationship which recognizes the unique place of aboriginal people and First Nations in Canada," a relationship which must be achieved through fair and voluntary negotiations among equal participants. The report adds: " THE STATUS QUO HAS BEEN COSTLY. ENERGIES AND RESOURCES HAVE BEEN SPENT IN LEGAL BATTLES AND OTHER STRATEGIES. IT IS TIME TO PUT THESE RESOURCES AND ENERGIES INTO THE NEGOTIATION OF A CONSTRUCTIVE RELATIONSHIP. " Here is some of the history which led to those conclusions: When European settlers arrived in what became British Columbia, the land was inhabited by many nations of people. Each nation had its own language, its own economy, its own system of laws and government and its own spiritual tradition. The British government's policy in North America, as set out in the Royal Proclamation of 1763, was that only the Crown could acquire land from the aboriginal people, and only by treaty. In eastern Canada and across the prairies, this policy resulted in major treaties by which various First Nations ceded title to their land to the Crown in exchange for substantial land reserves and other rights. On the prairies, the foundations for settling the land question were laid before Confederation. West of the Rockies, James Douglas was directed by the Colonial Office to purchase First Nations lands, first in his capacity as chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, and later as Governor of the colony. He arranged fourteen purchases, known as the Douglas Treaties, mostly on southern Vancouver Island. Then money ran out and there were no further purchases. Instead, Governor Douglas made the aboriginal people the same offer that he made to the settlers: if they would leave their homes, acquire Crown land and become farmers, they would be given equal treatment. But traditionally, aboriginal people were not farmers and their values and traditional ways of life made assimilation unlikely. After Governor Douglas retired, the colonial government removed the right of the aboriginal people to acquire Crown land and denied that they had ever owned the land. These issues were not resolved when British Columbia negotiated the Terms of Union with Canada in 1871. Federal negotiators did not consult with the aboriginal people. They wrongly assumed that the 'Indian question' had been resolved by treaties. The Terms of Union gave the province control over the creation of further Indian reserves and gave Canada responsibility for 'Indians and lands reserved for Indians.' This responsibility was carried out through the Indian Act, which imposed the 'band' system of administration on First Nations. Over the decades, First Nations leaders demanded treaties to safeguard the territories of their people. However, the only treaty signed in B.C.

Load more