Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver – The leadership of the First Nations Summit are in full agreement with observations contained in the 2009 BC Treaty Commission (BCTC) annual report which was released this morning in Victoria.
“We find ourselves at an incredibly fragile and dangerous point in time as many BC First Nations attempt to negotiate fair, just and honourable treaties with Canada and British Columbia”, said Grand Chief Edward John of the First Nations Summit political executive.
“As the BCTC annual report has indicated, 16 long years of negotiations have passed with only 2 agreements reached and little light at the end of the tunnel for those First Nations remaining at negotiating tables. This is cause for major concern for First Nations have accrued millions upon millions of dollars in loans to participate in negotiations. We are in full agreement with the observations of BCTC Chief Commissioner Sophie Pierre that failure to act now and reach substantive progress could result in the dissolution of the treaty process.