Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver – First Nations Summit (FNS) leaders were in Vancouver today for the release of the 2015 BC Treaty Commission (BCTC) Annual Report.
“The BCTC Annual report clearly articulates the important contributions the Commission has and continues to make as an independent facilitator of the negotiations process despite being hampered by the lack of a Chief Commissioner since March 2015”, said Cheryl Casimer of the First Nations Summit Political Executive.
“While the Principals are currently undertaking a multilateral engagement initiative to identify and consider options to improve and expedite treaty negotiations, the First Nations Summit remains of the view that a Chief Commissioner should be appointed as soon as possible to ensure the BCTC has the ability to properly fulfill its mandate. We will continue to reiterate and emphasize this point following the conclusion of the upcoming federal election”, added Casimer.