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24-605: The Maa-nulth First Nations' Final Agreement, Stage 5 in the BC Treaty Process , was initialled on December 9, 2006, and subsequently ratified by Maa-nulth First Nations members in the summer and fall of 2007. Provincial ratification legislation was introduced in the Legislative Assembly on November 21, and received Royal Assent on November 29. In October 2007, the ratification process was also completed and all five First Nations voted in favour of accepting

48-693: A non-binding opinion that the Xeni Gwetʼin could demonstrate Aboriginal title to half of the Nemaiah Valley , and that the province had no power over these lands. Under the BC treaty process, negotiating nations have received 5% of their claimed land recognized. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip , president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs , called the court ruling a "nail in the coffin" of the B.C. treaty process. Notwithstanding such legal rulings (sustained later in

72-456: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . BC Treaty Process The British Columbia Treaty Process ( BCTP ) is a land claims negotiation process started in 1993 to resolve outstanding issues, including claims to un-extinguished indigenous rights , with British Columbia 's First Nations . Three treaties have been implemented under the BCTP. The Nisga'a Final Agreement

96-583: Is considered separate from the Treaty Process because those negotiations began before the BC treaty process was started, and it has been called a blueprint for the current process. To represent the interests of First Nations involved with the process, the First Nations Summit was created. There are officially 60% of First Nations bands in the process, but only 20% are said to be making progress. About 40% of First Nations are not involved in

120-647: Is maintained by Indigenous Services Canada . Sole authority for determining who will be registered is held by the Indian Registrar. The discriminatory reasons for revoking status were: Since 1956 the Canadian federal government has issued an identity document to individuals who are registered under the Indian Act . Traditionally these documents have been used by First Nations people in Canada to cross

144-633: Is not covered by treaties. The few exceptions are the 14 Douglas Treaties on Vancouver Island , Treaty 8 (1899) in the Northeast of B.C., and the 2000 Nisgaʼa Final Agreement. Relations between Indigenous peoples and the B.C. government worsened over time, as the McKenna–McBride Royal Commission led to the redistribution of reserve lands and the Allied Tribes of British Columbia was essentially dissolved by an amendment to

168-561: The Indian Act . First Nations were not allowed to organize or raise money to pursue land claims. In the second half of the 20th century, demands for the recognition of Aboriginal title were buoyed by various court decisions in B.C., including Calder v British Columbia (AG) and R v Sparrow . In 1990, the governments of Canada, B.C. and First Nations established the B.C. Claims Task Force to investigate how treaty negotiations might begin and what they should cover. The following year,

192-661: The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council likewise rejected their AIP. The five Maa-nulth First Nations of the Nuu-chah-nulth ratified their treaty in October 2007. The BC government has ratified the final agreement which is yet to be ratified in the federal parliament. Ditidaht First Nation has subsequently taken legal action against the Maa-nulth in a dispute over land and resource ownership. In 2002,

216-594: The provincial government , and First Nations . A combination of contribution (grant) funding and loans are provided to First Nations on cost-share basis by the federal and provincial governments to support negotiation efforts. The British Columbia Treaty Commission accepts First Nations into the process, allocates negotiation support funding and monitors the progress of negotiations. The process: The voice of criticisms have come from different angles in Indigenous communities across British Columbia and Canada, and from

240-575: The 2015 Supreme Court of Canada decision, Tsilhqotʼin Nation v British Columbia ), the BC Treaty Process continues, as more than half of all First Nations in BC continue through the stages of the process. As of 2016, 4 Nations had completed and were implementing treaties; 7 were in Stage 5, and 42 were in Stage 4. The treaty process is a six-stage negotiation between the federal government ,

264-584: The Final Agreement. Of those who voted, close to 80 per cent were in favour of the treaty. The Maa-nulth Final Agreement is the first modern-day treaty for Vancouver Island and the second under the BCTC process. This First Nations in Canada –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Canadian politics –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This British Columbia -related article

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288-528: The Tsawwassen reserve, provided a one-time capital transfer of CA$ 13.9 million, $ 2 million for relinquishing mineral rights under English Bluff, $ 13.5 million for startup and transition costs, $ 7.3 million for a number of funds for the purposes of resource management and economic development and $ 2.6 annually for ongoing programs and services, and reserves a portion of the Fraser River salmon catch to

312-540: The Tsawwassen. In return, the Tsawwassen abandoned other land claims and will eventually pay taxes. The Temexw Treaty Association , whose members are signatories to the Douglas Treaties, is also attempting to negotiate within the BC Treaty Process. A November 2007 court ruling for the Xeni Gwetʼin First Nation called future participation in the process into question. The judge's ruling included

336-568: The chief benefits of which include the granting of reserves and of rights associated with them, an extended hunting season , easier access to firearms, an exemption from federal and provincial taxes on reserve, and more freedom in the management of gaming and tobacco franchises via less government interference and taxes. In 1851 the colonial governments of British North America began to keep records of Indians and bands entitled to benefits under treaty . For 100 years, individual Indian agents made lists of members who belonged to each band. In 1951,

360-413: The current Indian Register was established by amendment of the Indian Act , and the many band lists were combined into one. In 1985, the Indian Act was amended again with the goal of restoring First Nations status to people who had lost it through discriminatory provisions of the act, and to their children. Over 100,000 people who had lost their status in this way were added to the register. The list

384-617: The form of loans and $ 86.4 million in the form of contributions. Of that money the Treaty Commission's total operating costs from 1993 to March 31, 2009, spent $ 34.2 million. One successfully negotiated treaty was rejected, by the Lheidli Tʼenneh First Nation, in 2007. In July 2007, the Tsawwassen First Nation members voted 70% in favour of the treaty. The treaty more than doubled the size of

408-406: The governing BC Liberal Party mailed out ballots for a provincial referendum on principles for treaty negotiations. However, the referendum failed due to controversy over its phrasing and logistics, which generated protests and a boycott. In May 1993 the Treaty Commission allocated approximately CA$ 432 million in negotiation support funding to more than 50 First Nations: $ 345.6 million in

432-612: The negotiation of treaties in BC. The following year, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered its decision on Delgamuukw v British Columbia , recognizing Aboriginal title as "a right to the land itself", which derives from First Nations original occupation and possession at the time the Crown asserted sovereignty. The court also stated that the federal and provincial governments may infringe upon Aboriginal title under conditions for justification but that fair compensation would be due at

456-515: The non-native society as well. About two-thirds of First Nations are not involved with the Treaty Process; some have formed the "Unity Protocol", calling for an overhaul of the entire process. The Fraser Institute , a Canadian think tank, released a report in 2008 criticizing the B.C. Treaty Process as "incomplete, illiberal and expensive". Several assessments of why the treaty process have been made to attempt to more effectively conclude modern-day treaties: All of these analyze chronic problems of

480-512: The process such as lack of governmental commitment and the burden of loans taken out by First Nations to support their involvement in the unexpectedly long process of reaching final agreements. Status Indians The Indian Register is the official record of people registered under the Indian Act in Canada, called status Indians or registered Indians . People registered under the Indian Act have rights and benefits that are not granted to other First Nations people, Inuit , or Métis ,

504-465: The provincial government accepted the concept of Aboriginal rights (including the inherent right to self-government) as official policy. The Claims Task Force made 19 recommendations and suggested a six-stage process for negotiating new treaties. The British Columbia Treaty Commission is the independent body which oversees the treaty process. B.C. treaty commissioners were first appointed in April 1993, and

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528-652: The time of such an infringement. Sechelt First Nation was the first community to sign an agreement-in-principle (AIP) in 1999. Members of the Sliammon First Nation (Tlaʼamin First Nation) voted to reject their negotiated AIP in 2001, but then approved the AiP in June 2003. Tlaʼamin Nation later ratified a final agreement with BC & Canada in 2012, which is in effect as of 2016. Six of 12 member nations of

552-467: The treaty process officially began in December 1993. By 1996, 47 First Nations, representing more than 60% of status Indians in B.C., had decided to participate. After a few years of negotiations, the Treaty Commission released the 1997 Systems Overload Report which argued that the provincial and federal governments needed to increase their financial resources and the capacity level of First Nations for

576-660: The treaty process. Because the Royal Proclamation of 1763 stated that the Crown must negotiate and sign treaties with the Indigenous people before land could be ceded to a colony, the Numbered Treaties were negotiated in most parts of the Prairie Provinces . The Government of the Colony of British Columbia , however, failed to negotiate many treaties and as a result, most of the province's land

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