All the more reason for an effective "Voter's Veto", where such legislation, from whichever Party it emanates, can be referred back to the people, after petition by sufficient number of us to do so, for a vote on it directly.

If it is voted down, and the government of the day feels it necessary that it be implemented regardless, let them then take the issue as a 'confidence motion' and fight a general election on it.

That's the only way we can ever truly have a say in what WE really want.

The STV idea, for whatever small merits it might possess otherwise, if any, is simply not effective in expressing the will of the people on individual issues like this that affect us all.

It does no good to have two, or even more, Parties in the legislature whose leadership's policies on this issue is all essentially the same, and likely at odds with that of the majority of British Columbians. But who are determined to implement initiatives counter to the overall public good anyways, simply to retain the support of their financial backers.

And make no mistake, Campbell's globalist backers wouldn't let this proposal get as far as it has if they weren't already poised to give the natives a 'scalping'by skinning them out of "their" resources with some good pay-offs for the Chiefs, and the "string-of-beads" promise of "jobs" for the average Indian.

And WE'LL be left to deal with the fall-out after the resources have been stripped bare, those "jobs" have vanished, and the Native 'tenure' is worthless in any further economic sense, and remains as a legal millstone around the necks of all of us.

It would seem that there is a lot more in this deal for the Campbell Liberals than there is for first nations themselves.
So what is it?
The lack of explanation and clarity by the government on what this is really all about is reason for serious concern.
And why now?
Why did this become a major focus right before a provincial election?
Not only is the Liberal government very quiet about this deal,so are first nations leaders.
Why the lack of dialogue?
Is it a complete sell-out of the forest industry and the mining sector in B.C. as so many seem to think?
Was this intentional or a political slip up by somebody in government?
What's it all about Gordon?
What's in this for you and your boys?
Because I can find nothing of any good in it for B.C.!
Explain Gordo and explain now,because you will have a tough time talking after you have your sorry head handed to you in May!

Carol James and the NDP support this initiative, according to this morning's radio news.

I am sure they do support it diplomat,but I wonder if they know anymore about this deal than the rest of us?
I would have actually expected something like this more from the NDP at some point than from the Liberals.
But regardless,the lack of detail and explanation coming from the government is disturbing.
Talk about shooting yourself in the foot at the worst possible time!
And when the Campbell government doesn't want to talk about something,there has to be a darn good reason for it!

"That the relationship between indigenous Nations and the Crown is a government to government relationship"

My house sits on land in Canada, thus it is on Canadian soil.

It is in the province of BC, thus it is on Provincial soil.

It is in Prince George, thus it is on City soil.

All three levels of government have a potential say in how I use my property.

There is nothing in the statements made that will place my house on First Nations soil.

"in which both parties exercise authority to make decisions including about how the lands and resources will be used and the resources shared”.

This is about how resources are to be "used" and how they are to be shared.

If I have been correct in my understanding about what the companies that want to access those resources and use the land to build pipelines, etc. this is what they need. There are companies who have already made deals with the First Nations of how to manage their tenures.

I say get on with it. Great that both parties might actually be in agreement on this. Life will not end when an agreement is reached. In fact, I think it will be invigorated.

I am not surprised that the NDP would support this. The last thing they want is to look less than totally native rights oriented for their urban voter base. As well, they have to be pretty worried that any opposition to the idea will be a politically incorrect steaming hot potatoe.
I really do think the Liberals have shot themselves in the foot with this one. They are daned if they do and damned if they dont. Stupid, just plain stupid.

No details you say?

That is the best way to say anything if you want support.

In this case, those who think that First Nations input will take a tougher look at how resources are used and will bring money to those who get to share the resources that they have not been able to share in before, will think that this is beneficial.

Also, those who think this will bring some order and decision to the system so that companies accessing the resources and land base for their purposes can much better do so and reduce the risk they have been taking in the last 20+ years, will also think thast it is beneficial.

An obvious win-win for both left and right and centrists.

Which way will it work. Possibly it will benefit all sides and all parties who are affected - you, me, and them.

As someone says, time will tell.

This may actually fly simply because of the greed that is apparent now in all the chiefs within the Native communities....You are right to say that the Gov will strip the resource right out from under the Native Chiefs noses, they will not even know what hit them.
The Governments, over the years have quietly gone about changing the grass root beliefs of the the Native people and their culture...Native people used to be a very universally and spiritually open people (some still are). Over the past one hundred years or so the Native culture has changed to mirror that of the Non Native culture. For the most part the core spiritual and cultural beliefs of the Natives has be replaced with the dishonesty, disrespect and an unquenchable desire for more materialistic things, mirroring that of the Non Natives. Where the Natives used to fish to feed their people, you now find Native Community Chiefs doing the fishing, not to feed their people but to sell the fish to line their own pockets.....this is historically, not a Native characteristic. The Native people used to care about the earth and all the creatures living upon it, this is not the case anymore. Now you find people stringing gill nets completely across a river, letting nothing past to spawn. You also find Native people hunting and selling to others, the wild game they manage to bag on their hunting trips. The said hunting trips can happen any time of the year.
The Native people "had to" adjust to survive and were more or less forced to learn how to play a new game in a new arena, and they did, they adopted the proverbial "White Mans Ways". If they had not done this they would have been stomped completely into the ground by the non Native people and their Governments.
This being said, this change in the Native culture brought with it some very unattractive characteristics that replaced the old ways of living. These new changes could be and will be used against Native in the end if they do not walk in with their eyes wide open. Where ever there is greed like their is in all communities, Native or Non Native, you will find the holes required for an opponent to win a battle or take advantage of a situation some how, that is what this is all about, winning resources at the lowest cost possible.
Contrary to both Native and Non Native beliefs, this earth was left under all of our care, no one person, no one indigenous people, no one government or country should be allowed to lay claim to the earth, but many try and many appear to have succeeded. These governing entities succeed simply because we give them the power by believing that they own the country they govern over. The minute we allow this paradigm to become reality we have given others power over us and the earth we live on. Like good little solders we become followers allowing others to dictate our fate. Even if we wanted to take it back it is almost imposable to take back that which we had no right to give away in the first place.
We as humans are our own worst enemies, we fail to embrace differences in people. We would rather have everyone cloned to be the same as we are, even though we know that no one individual is the same as another....tough row to hoe I'd say.
Personally, I like the old ways and I miss them, are we ever going to see them again...I think not.

I think we have given enough to the first nations I feel that we are all canadians and all british columbians and it is time we all including the natives whites and the politicions accept this and that includes our local dictator mr campell We do not need more levels of goverments having thier hands out wanting to share in the revenues from these resorces.Also we do not need the natives telling the professionals what is the right way and the wrong ways to do these projects.The native thing has become an industry more powerful than the citizens of canada..

We are one people, and we should all live under one law. Anything less is simply unacceptable to this voter.

Race based rights is simply wrong on all moral and philosophical levels.

I support individual compensation not for past wrongs, but as a sign of faith towards a common future. Past considerations for land and cash yes, but not for any special rights that would be beyond that of any other municipal government.

Part of the problem is multinationals control our government, and they want to rape the land and its resources for short term profits, so any race based deal will be associated with all sorts of new master deals that violate all of our traditional Crown lands, but in this case only for the benefit of a small group of easily bought off peoples (band chiefs). This is not good for the 99.99% of British Columbian citizens that call this province home.

This needs to be settled.. so that ownership of this province is confirmed to be that of a democracy of its citizens, and not as a serfdom of corruptible Indian band chiefs as our corruptible duopoly party government will have it.

This is about serfdom for the 99.99% of British Columbian's that are not Indian band chiefs.

The globalists want to deal with a few easily bought of Indian Chiefs and to give them cover for the exploitation of our Crown lands. The globalists are the ones driving this agenda.

Windigo if the natines want to live the ways of the whites mabey the should start by paying taxes...

Wow Dozer, never heard that one before. You are a bastion of originality in here.

Psst, little news fact for you. Natives like me who live on our own property (not the rez) and work off-reserve, pay taxes just like you. That much I do know.

Now knowing that little nugget, would you treat me as an equal if you saw me on the street?

Howard
If you have a status card and buy a new truck that is delivered to you on any reserve in BC do you still pay the same taxes as the other races in BC?

This is a lot of to-do about nothing. Most of us work for

(a) The Government
(b) Private Industry

It matters little to the working man who owns the tree he falls, and hauls to the sawmill. Who cares who owns it, as it seems the important thing is to create.

(a) Profit
(b) Work.

Who cares who gets the profit. Canfor, or the Natives. It makes no differance to me, nor does it make any differance to 90% of the people in the Province. When we talk about raping the landscape, we (the whites) have already done this, from the East Coast of North America to the West Coast.

People talk big, and make all kinds of wonderful statements, however at the end of the day they do nothing. This Province and this Country is filled with a bunch of whiners, and bellachers.

The Captial of BC is Victoria, and the City of Victoria is still dumping raw sewage into the ocean. Why dont you bitch about that for a while. You would think that in the area where all our great political minds congregate, that they would be able to solve this problem. There should be posters in every Government toilet. **Do you know where your crap is going**

Everybody in Prince George knows where the pollution comes from, but do you ever see anything done about it.

This town has thousands of Government people slurping at the trough gobbling up tax payers dollars, and playing us for fools. When will we wake up and smell the flowers. (Try never).


A pay cheque made out by Canfor, or by the Carrier Sekani makes no difference to the working man, as long as he has a job. Thats what it is all about. The rest is just hyperbole.

No I don't lostfaith, but when I buy my first tank of gas or quart of oil, I pay taxes. As a landlord I find deductions to keep paying taxes, as a homeowner I apply for a grant to reduce property taxes. Does that make me different from a person who rents?

Dozer's generalization about natives not paying taxes is untrue.

Generalizations about race is what causes divisions, not unity. I don't see every whiteman as the bastards who stole my land, so neither should someone like you or Dozer assume or generalize that every native person doesn't pay taxes or looks for a tax break on everything.

Some don't.

Interesting to read in Michael Smyth's column in today's Province, that the genie is finally out of the Lower Mainland bottle on this issue. Whether it has legs enough to last beyond the next Canucks' game remains to be seen.
Not sure how BC has deteriorated from the days of Wacky Bennett - "British Columbia belongs to British Columbians; period!" But it has a lot to do with the fact that Metro Vancouver shrugs a colossal yawn until the speed bump arrives unannounced at the end of a private driveway. Only at that point does anyone give a damn; but it'll be too late to do anything once they discover the driveway doesn't even belong to them!
On yet another Campbell giveaway-destruction of a resource industry, read on to see what the determination of one person can achieve over a Goliath who is determined to continue an abuse of public power; and for now, I don't mean Hydro - that's still to come!

Dear Honourable Minster Shea, and Premier Campbell:

Four Thousand, six hundred and seventeen (4.617) people have signed the letter attached to this email. The rate of signatures is accelerating and already this number of out of date as more people have signed in the past 1/2 hour. Three thousand, seven hundred and ninety six are from British Columbia. Most of the remaining nearly 1000 people contribute to the BC economy as visitors.

I will continue forwarding this letter to both of you due to the recent appeal of the BC Supreme Court decision to assign fish “farms” to the federal government.

Minister Shea, I am hoping these signatures will help you gauge the level of concern here in BC. Wild salmon bring $1.5 billion dollars to BC every year in wilderness tourism, the commercial fishery is worth another .5 billion and wild salmon are extremely important to the First Nations of British Columbia. Anything that threatens all of this is harming the BC economy. Initially, I know this industry was considered a benefit to small coastal communities, but the opposite has occurred in many places. This is a failed social experiment. Wherever wild salmon are healthy, the economy is healthy. What is the solution?

1. Wild salmon cannot be moved, so remove the penned ones.
2. Offer incentives to Canadian fish farmers to build tanks on land where they can work on farming a range of fish species and build a
viable industry with permanent infrastructure, not disposable pens
3. Form councils made of only local people willing to work hard to restore wild salmon, using the remarkably successful biology of wild
salmon as the compass and instruct government to help, not hinder these people
4. Apply the Fisheries Act fair and square to any aquaculture that remains in public waters.

We got into this mess because no-one read the road signs and now we are deep into the danger zone. Most recently the $5 million Pacific Salmon Forum, tasked to respond to the plummeting wild Broughton salmon stocks, confirmed there is a relationship between fish farms, sea lice and declining wild salmon. What did they recommend? Leave farm salmon production at the same level as where all the damage to the pink salmon occurred. This is simply not going to work. Any other fishery found damaging wild salmon would be reduced, not maintained at exactly the levels that saw the harm occur. There is something very wrong with this recommendation. Furthermore the impact on Fraser River salmon and steelhead is omitted.

The Norwegian fish farmers have failed us. They are too mechanized, their product is not worth enough, their scale of impact is too great and they have destroyed the salmon market. I feel certain we can build a better aquaculture industry on land where some species of fish will be farmed and we would have our wild salmon and jobs spanning several fish related industries. Diversity is the key to survival of the global economic storm.

Wherever there are wild salmon people thrive; this has been so for 8,000 years in BC.

We are standing by,
Alexandra Morton
Echo Bay/Sointula
www.adopt-a-fry.org