Office Role and Services

Vision, Mission and Values

Vision

Treaty and other agreements with First Nations are concluded, bringing certainty to the land, and economic and social benefits to all British Columbians. By reconciling the difficult nature of our past relationships, we will develop co-operative associations and build mutual respect and trust in our communities.

Mission

The Treaty Negotiations Office provides leadership across government in concluding agreements with First Nations. The Office works collaboratively with other provincial ministries, First Nations organizations, the federal government and other partners to establish workable arrangements with First Nations and increase certainty over Crown lands and resources in British Columbia.

Values

The Treaty Negotiations Office recognizes that achieving its goals depends on the continued support of a professional, skilled and knowledgeable workforce. Staff endeavors to meet the organization's goals in a progressive, innovative and results-oriented manner. They deliver services efficiently, effectively and with a clear sense of pride and purpose.

Office Overview, Core Business Areas and Structure

Office Overview

The Treaty Negotiations Office is responsible for the negotiation of treaties and other agreements with First Nations that help to build economic strength and stability. Treaties are constitutionally protected agreements negotiated between First Nations and the governments of British Columbia and Canada. They set out a new relationship between parties by defining their respective rights and responsibilities, thus creating certainty with respect to the use of Crown land and resources. It is through the negotiation of treaties and other agreements that the Treaty Negotiations Office works toward creating a more stable climate that facilitates economic investment and supports its mission to conclude treaties and other agreements with First Nations. To facilitate this work, the Office is structured into three core business areas:

Negotiations

Negotiations includes the processes required to successfully reconcile Aboriginal rights and title with Crown title in British Columbia. Treaties are negotiated through a six-stage process overseen by the British Columbia Treaty Commission, an independent body established in 1993 by British Columbia, Canada and the First Nations Summit². During the six-stage treaty process, the parties also negotiate other significant agreements that help to build certainty. These include Agreements-in-Principle, land protection agreements, self-government agreements and fiscal financing agreements³. All negotiations conducted by the Treaty Negotiations Office adhere to British Columbia's publicly endorsed negotiating principles defined in the 2002 Referendum on Treaty Principles⁴.

The courts have been clear that the Crown has a legal duty to consult and accommodate First Nations where their Aboriginal rights may be affected. This core business area provides leadership and coordination across government to ensure this obligation is being met. Accommodation agreements with First Nations may include transferring economic benefits, engaging First Nations in land-use planning processes and seeking their input on resource management decisions. Efforts are focused on creating predictable day-to-day economic activity on Crown lands, increasing access to provincial lands and resources, and facilitating economic development.

The Province has a responsibility to represent and promote the interests of all British Columbians. As a result, provincial treaty negotiators engage in consultation as part of their negotiating responsibilities. Discussions on specific matters provide local government, business representatives and other community groups with opportunities to raise concerns and provide input on ways to reach resolutions on issues under negotiation. Through this process, critical support for treaty-making, and other negotiations, is built at the community level.

This core business area also includes support services required by the Office to carry out its day-to-day responsibilities, including salaries, benefits, and operating expenses. Core support services are provided by the Ministry of Attorney General.

Economic Development

The Province supported economic development opportunities for First Nations through the Economic Development Fund from fiscal 2002/03 – 2004/05. Funding was provided to improve access to training, expand business skills and knowledge, and to stimulate economic development by encouraging First Nations' entrepreneurship, enterprise and participation in British Columbia's economy.

The Treaty Negotiations Office administered this funding on behalf of the Province and in fiscal 2004/05 approximately $5.3 million was allocated to 34 projects to be completed through March 2005. Types of projects that have been funded include:

• Partnerships between Aboriginal communities and industry or local government;
• Increased First Nations' access to resource tenures;
• Measures that addressed specific land and resource issues, including First Nations' involvement in strategic land-use planning; and
• Measures that increased First Nations' capacity to engage in the economy.

Reconciliation

The Treaty Negotiations Office embraces reconciliation as a guiding principle under which all parties work together to resolve their differences. By acknowledging each other's respective rights and responsibilities, we are able to forge new relationships built upon mutual trust and to support a positive future for all British Columbians. Court cases such as the Haida/Taku decisions have provided us with direction as to how government fulfills its legal obligation to consult and accommodate First Nations on land and resource decisions. The Province has heeded the courts direction and has entered into a process with First Nations to determine how to implement this direction. Resources for this area are funded through the Negotiations core business area.

Treaty Negotiations Office Operating Context

The Treaty Negotiations Office faces a range of challenges both internally and externally which affect its operating context. In 2004/05, the Office furthered its efforts to achieve agreements with First Nations by focusing on the most promising opportunities and obtaining a one-time increase to resources, allocated to the Negotiations core business area to support this focus.

Externally, the Office seeks to manage the uncertainty associated with unreconciled aboriginal rights and title and Crown title and the impact associated over lands and resources decision-making. Treaty and other negotiations with First Nations aim to address these uncertainties by establishing agreements designed to enhance economic stability and opportunity in British Columbia.

Achieving certainty and reconciling the interests of the Crown with First Nations interests involves complex, multi-party negotiations which have a significant impact on the success of the treaty process and the Office's ability to meet its performance targets. The Office works collaboratively with other provincial ministries, First Nations, the federal government and other stakeholders to establish workable arrangements that contribute to increased certainty over Crown lands and resources in British Columbia. The support of these participants, and their active involvement in the treaty process, is necessary to achieve the goals and objectives of the Office.

For example, some of the key external factors which bear upon the Treaty Negotiations Office's ability to negotiate and conclude lasting agreements:

• Unwillingness of some First Nations to engage in the treaty process;
• The evolving legal landscape as a result of court decisions on Aboriginal rights; and
• Social and practical pressures within First Nation communities that may prevent First Nations from engaging in long-term negotiations or ratifying agreements.

New Era Commitments

The Treaty Negotiations Office continued to make progress in meeting the government's New Era Commitments.