Coast Salish Territory (Vancouver, BC) – The signing of the BC Treaty Commission Agreement, 20 years ago today, marked a significant moment in the history of the relationship between the Crown and First Nations in BC. This agreement, signed by the Prime Minister of Canada, the Premier of BC and the leaders of the First Nations Summit, was celebrated by a sacred Coast Salish cultural ceremony, which honored the parties’ commitments to move beyond their difficult past and build a new relationship based on mutual trust, respect and understanding. Unfortunately, negotiations have been far too slow, far too costly and have not met these commitments.
The failure of the Crown to recognize the reality of Aboriginal title in the early years of the history of British Columbia created the outstanding Indian land question that largely remains unresolved. In the early 1990s, BC and Canada finally decided to work with First Nations to address this critical issue and established a modern, made in BC, treaty process to achieve the reconciliation required by law and justice.
“While treaty negotiations have resulted in some success stories, we would have clearly hoped there would have been many more by now. Unfortunately, some 20 years after the start, many First Nations remain frustrated by the growing debt and slow pace of the current treaty negotiation process”, said Grand Chief Edward John of the First Nations Summit political executive.