Coast Salish Territory/ Vancouver, BC – The First Nations Summit welcomes the long-awaited public release of the report on treaty negotiations in BC by James Lornie, Special Representative to the Hon. John Duncan, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development.
The First Nations Summit is calling on the federal government to take immediate action to implement Mr. Lornie’s nine core recommendations which outline how the federal government can accelerate treaty negotiations in BC.
The nine recommendations are:
- Consider re-evaluating the approach to key substantive mandates under discussion at the Common Table, to look for opportunities to address the concerns of First Nations.
- Review and re-evaluate the concerns raised by First Nations regarding the application of the existing Own Source Revenue (OSR) policy, to look for opportunities for flexibility in its application.
- Review aspects of fisheries negotiations that are not implicated by the Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon on the Fraser River, for opportunities to recommence negotiations (in the context of both comprehensive and incremental treaty agreements).