The Sechelt Indian Band is a predominantly urban group living on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, 50 km northwest of Vancouver. On April 16, 1999, they signed an agreement-in-principle with the governments of British Columbia (B.C.) and Canada, the first to be reached through the five-year process of the British Columbia Treaty Commission (CCNC). Chief Feschuk called the memorandum a “victory for the people of Sechelt” and answered questions from a crowd of journalists outside the Sechelt Administration Building during a break from the historic presentation ceremony on the Sunshine Coast. It was history at Sechelt Band Hall on January 26, with hundreds of residents, seniors, schoolchildren and media representatives coming to present the draft contractual agreement in principle, which lasted more than 200 public consultation sessions and five years. While the agreement has not yet been signed, it represents the culmination of Stage 5 of the British Columbia Treaty Commission`s six-step process. The draft treaty will give the Sechelts an additional 933 hectares of land, nearly double the area they currently own, as well as the possibility of expanding these countries to 3,055 hectares over the next 24 years. The proposed contract covers local gravel land currently leased by Construction Aggregates, and the future land disposition includes the land on which the only hospital on the Sunshine Coast will be built. Federal Representative John Reynolds – whose constituency includes the Sunshine Coast – said his Reform Party would “respect agreements made in the right way.” Treaty Talks in British Columbia traces the origins and development of contract negotiations in the province. Since the publication of the second edition of this book in 2000, a number of important developments have taken place: a controversial referendum on conventional mandates has taken place; the historic Treaty of Tsawwassen, the first to be signed as part of the British Columbia Treaty process, eventually came into force; and a second treaty was signed with the five Maa-nulth First Nations on the west coast of Vancouver Island. A striking theme running through the narrative is how the provincial government has changed the way it approaches negotiations and its relationship with First Nations. “We will negotiate leases with B.C.
and with commodity companies […] and anyone who wants to cross our country should continue to call the band office first out of courtesy, as they do now,” he said. (b) Lands declared Sechelt lands within the meaning of this Act by the Governor to the Council and the Lieutenant Governor to the Council of British Columbia. (sechelte lands) Detailed plans for fish and wildlife management are being ironed out in the final agreement, although the draft agreement states that the Sechelts will receive 11 existing commercial fishing licences; and 16,250 sockeye salmon, 2,700 pink salmon and 3,700 chum salmon per year for the first 10 years, plus a maximum of 12,500 salmon per year from the Jervis Inlet area, while other agreements are being negotiated for harvests in other regions. The final design provides for the allocation of fish and crustaceans outside the salmon, including cod, halibut, herring, crabs, mussels, shrimp and shrimp, and sandfish. “The Sechelt agreement gives impetus to the negotiation of other agreements in the Lower Mainland and across the province,” he said. Secretary Wilson is also the Member of Parliament for Powell River-Sunshine Coast. The BCTC is an impartial body responsible for facilitating tripartite treaty negotiations (regional agreements that address both land and political rights) in the province of British Columbia between First Nations Indians and the provincial and federal governments. It arose as a result of a recommendation made in 1991 by the Joint Task Force that a modern treaty process should exist to deal with the many outstanding Aboriginal land claims in British Columbia. The draft agreement also contains strict criteria for determining who is eligible for the treaty process. Eligible voters must be 18 years of age. Inadmissible voters include non-Aboriginal people who became band members by marriage after 1985 and have since divorced; and non-Aboriginal children born to non-Aboriginal persons who became band members by marriage before 1985.
5. The Minister or a person designated by the Minister for that purpose shall, without undue delay, consider an application referred to in paragraph 4 upon receipt and a decision of the Minister or the person designated in the matter is final. The Sechelt agreement in principle is remarkable as a “first” in other respects. It is the first modern Aboriginal land claims treaty to apply to lands in an urban area of British Columbia. On these lands, there will first be joint management of forest and gravel quarries between the Government of British Columbia and the Sechelt, with a gradual introduction of the entire Sechelt control. Of the 2000 hectares of land covered by the treaty (former reserve land and new settlement land), the Sechelt will have all surface and underground resources. In addition, $5 million in economic development assistance (fisheries, forestry, business) will be provided – mainly by the federal government, in exchange for Sechelt`s grant of their tax-exempt status and the “complete and final” settlement of all Aboriginal title and rights to the lands and their resources under the treaty. Sechelt boss Garry Feschuk announced the deal as a promotion of the group`s main goal of self-sufficiency and ending reliance on government funds. 2. The Minister shall ensure that the Council and an officer designated for that purpose by the Government of British Columbia for that purpose make available without delay a copy of any final list drawn up in accordance with paragraph 1. 30.
(1) The Minister shall establish a final list of all rights and interests in Sechelt lands for which laws are enacted in accordance with section 28 no later than ten days after the expiry of the period referred to in section 29(3). Other highlights of the agreement include provisions for agreements with the province and the Royal British Columbia Museum on the future disposal of cultural artifacts from their collection; the right to participate in the management of public water supply processes; the right to participate in the management of environmental assessment planning procedures at the provincial level; and the right to cultivate and harvest forest land in the Sechelt Contract Area. The Sechelt Band has signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the provincial and federal governments. It gives the 900 band members $42 million in cash and a small amount of land with resource rights. Former Sechelt group member Theresa Jeffries praised the deal. The BCTC deserves to be studied in Australia as it identifies a possible model to facilitate the resolution of Australian Indigenous land claims and land use agreements. Since this is a regional process, it was appropriate to address specific B.C. issues related to Aboriginal title (i.e., there are no previous treaties in British Columbia and the title is still not printed), self-government (many British Columbia Indian bands have delegated authority to local governments under the Indian Act and want to be self-determined), economic development (largely resource-based) and conservation in the region. 33 The Minister may, with the consent of the Governor, enter into an agreement with the Gang within the Council under which the Government of Canada shall make funds available to the Band in the form of grants for such a period and under the conditions set out in the Agreement. Once the draft agreement has been initialled by all parties, the final agreement will be prepared.
The Sechelt Band is the first First Nation to reach Level 5 in contract process B.C. Currently, 51 First Nations – representing 70% of the province`s Aboriginal people – are involved in the contracting process. The draft agreement includes provisions relating to both provincial and federal taxes, land and cash transactions, resource management activities, and assurance that the Sechelt Indian Band Self-Government Act, passed in 1986, will be maintained. 3. A final list drawn up in accordance with paragraph 1 shall determine in all respects all rights and interests in the territory to which it relates at the time of drawing up the list. Sechelt Mayor Bruce Milne said the deal would lift a cloud of economic development in the surrounding community. Several terms of the agreement exclude persons who participate in other contractual processes. The draft agreement also provides for a dispute settlement procedure. Prime Minister Clark said the agreement was a strong signal that the Treaty Commission process was working. In return, band members renounce their tax-exempt status. But they won`t start paying provincial taxes, income taxes, or goods and services taxes until a few years after the deal is concluded.
Under the tax treaty, the Sechelts will begin paying transaction taxes after eight years and federal income tax after 12 years, which is a large departure from the band`s initial request for a 50-year exemption period. (a) all interests arising out of the British Columbia Indian Reserves Mineral Resources Act is chapter 19 of the Statutes of Canada, 1943/44 and the Indian Reserves Mineral Resources Act is chapter 19 of the Statutes of Canada, 1943/44 and the Indian Reserves Mineral Resources Act, Chapter 192 of the Revised Statutes of British Columbia, 1979, all as amended; 4. Any person may submit to the Minister an application to amend the reserve land register within the time prescribed in paragraph 3. Ð1/2D°ÑÐμÐ1/4 кÑÑпÐ1/2DμйÑÐμÐ1/4 в Ð1/4ÐÐ ̧ÑÐμ Ð1/4агаз ̧Ð1/2Ðμ пÑÐμÐ ́Ñав»ÐμÐ1/2ÑлÐμкÑÑÐ3/4Ð1/2Ð1/2ÑÐμ кÐ1/2Ð ̧Ð̧Ð̧, кÐ3/4ÑÐ3/4ÑÐμ Ð1/4Ð3/4жÐ1/2Ð3/4 ÑÐ ̧ÑÑв бÑаÑз ÐμÑÐμ, Ð1/2а плÐ1/2ÑÐμÑÐ1/2Ð3/4Ð1/4ÐÐлÐμÑÐ3/4Ð1/2Ðμ Ð ̧лл̧ ÑпÐμÑÐ ̧алÑÐ1/2Ð3/4Ð1/4 ÑÑÑÐ3/4йÑÑÑвÐμ. . . .
