Strategic Context
The Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation is central to fulfilling the government's long-term vision for the province and leads the rest of government in establishing cross government initiatives to increase the social and economic capacity of all Aboriginal persons1 throughout British Columbia.
In fulfilling this role, the Ministry collaborates with other ministries on their Aboriginal initiatives including:
a) With the Ministry of Education on increasing Aboriginal graduation rates and literacy programs (including Aboriginal languages);
b) With the Ministry of Health on improving Aboriginal health outcomes to the provincial average within a decade;
c) With the Ministry of Children and Family Development on developing a strategy to better coordinate funding and support for Aboriginal children's services;
d) With the Ministry of Labour and Citizens' Services on extending broadband Internet access to 100 First Nations communities across British Columbia;
e) With the Ministry of Community Services, Public Service Agency on increasing Aboriginal representation in public service and expanded access to employment opportunities;
f) With the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts on developing an Aboriginal Tourism Blueprint, which includes the celebration of the North American Indigenous Games in the Cowichan Valley in 2008;
g) With the Ministry of Forests and Range to increase First Nations participation in forestry and planning with respect to the Mountain Pine Beetle devastation; and
h) With the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands to integrate First Nations perspective into land use planning.
Contributing to the success of the Five Great Goals, the Ministry faces an array of external and internal challenges, as well as opportunities, which affect its planning context.
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| 1 | Aboriginal includes First Nations (status, non-status, on and off reserve), Métis and Inuit wherever they may reside throughout British Columbia. |
External Factors
Externally, the Ministry seeks to manage the uncertainty associated with reconciling Aboriginal rights and title with Crown title, as well as its impact on decisions about provincial lands and resources.
Court decisions on Aboriginal rights impact the legal obligation to consult First Nations. By developing and implementing an effective framework for consultation with First Nations, fewer decisions will be challenged in court — that reduces legal costs for everyone.
Relationship building with Aboriginal organizations and service delivery agencies helps build partnerships for social and economic development. Negotiations with First Nations strive to establish agreements to enhance economic opportunities, support social development and eventually lead the way to treaties.
Not all First Nations in British Columbia are participating in the BC Treaty Commission process. Development of a new relationship consultation framework will assist in establishing lasting agreements. British Columbia is also interested in revitalizing the treaty process to better use interim measures and other arrangements to deal with the pragmatic concerns of individual First Nation communities.
Internal Factors
Internally, the Ministry is in a strong position to provide advice, identify opportunities and remove barriers. This came about because of a solid history of relationship-building between ministries, a unified mandate and more integrated decision-making.
Working with other ministries, the Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation strives to ensure that government's collective commitment to the Five Great Goals over the next decade will be met for Aboriginal people as well as for the general population. It is understood that only when Aboriginal people are involved in the development of programs, policies and measures will British Columbia be able to achieve these goals.
