Pushing ahead with First Nation treaty negotiations – Ponoka News

Sep 20th, 2017

British Columbia Treaty Commission moves forward on 14 negotiations involving 32 First Nations.

The British Columbia Treaty Commission says the political climate provincially and federally is ripe for pushing ahead stalled First Nation treaty negotiations.

The commission released its annual report Wednesday saying 14 negotiations involving 32 First Nations are in the advanced stages, and chief commissioner Celeste Haldane said the goal is to see those treaties signed in the next two years.

“The process has momentum now,” she said. “Communities are … able to break the shackles of the Indian Act, they’re truly self governing, they’re truly self-determining, and they’re actually doing things the way they want to based on what their communities’ needs are, I think that’s incredibly important.”