The discussion paper is also online (and has been for at least a week and a half) on the governments website at
http://www.gov.bc.ca/arr/newrelationship/down/implementing_the_new_relationship_0309.pdf

"That indigenous peoples pre-existed and continue to exist today and have their own laws,governments,political structures,territories and rights inherited from their ancestors.
The crown recognizes this without requirement of proof."

WITHOUT REQUIREMENT OF PROOF?

Whoa...does the Campbell government even begin to understand this and the long term reprecussions that could arise for both sides of the issue?
I do not believe this will make anything better...it will however make a bad situation worse and even more confusing.
It may also be unconstitutional and no doubt somebody will test it in court.
A country within a country?
On and on it goes.
The B.C.Liberals want something for themselves out of this...First Nations would be wise to find out what it is.
This is political suicide for Campbell and their has to be a reason for it.
His government's concern for native people's rights has nothing to do with this.

It may well have been up on the site "for a week and a half" cogo, but if so, funny no-one could raise it on Google.
Funny, also, that "stakeholders" who were given this confidential document for comment, remained bound by the terms of its top secret "confidentiality" not to discuss it with the media until they were fit to be tied. And why the secrecy about Campbell trying to ram it through the Legislature right before Spring Break?
Andyfreeze is right on the mark - but there's another item of serious concern - the fact that this Aboriginal Recognition Act would allow a little under 3% of the BC population special (unequal) rights to negotiate "government to government" and the ACT an ability to "take priority over all other provincial statutes dealing with (management of lands and resources...) these subject matters." That means veto power, Folks.
Perhaps the worst aspect of this proposal, however, is this: Far from fulfilling the government's (hypocritically?) stated goal of "fostering reconciliation, cooperation and partnership," it does the exact opposite. It sets the stage for legal wrangling for years to come.
Andyfreeze is bang on when s/he says, "The B.C. Liberals want something for themselves out of this...First Nations would be wise to find out what it is."
The ONLY thing encouraging about all of this, is that Liberal MLAs hammered on Campbell and his clique on this far into the night, until he backed off...albeit they likely did so only to save their own seats.

ah, give them the land to govern, the rest of us can live here as refugees, and they can feed us.

TIME FOR A WAR!!!!!!

andyfreeze:
A country within country, review Quebec's status within Canada.

I am still waiting for Campbell and de Jong to explain the thought and logic behind this "confidential" document.
I want to here from them in their own words.
There is no question that there is much more behind this than meets the eye.
And if that is in fact not true,why was it labeled as "Confidential-without predjudice" on 2/19/2009/5:46:33 PM. when it was apparently drawn up?
Who suggested the Liberals negotiate this kind of deal on our behalf without our knowledge?
Did they seriously consult in detail with the forest industry or the mining industry before this document was drawn up?
Campbell in all his arrogance obviously does not feel the need to explain himself,and I would assume his cabinet has been silenced as well.
I can only assume he really doesn't give damn or care what the people of B.C.think.
Which gives me all the more reason to hope Campbells dubious career comes to an abrupt end at the ballot box in May.
As a long time Liberal supporter,I am more than a bit angry.
There is a line and Campbell has crossed it for the last time.

I wonder...where on the map is a little piece of BC the remainder of the province who is not first nations could claim?

Ain't none dazed_but_not_confused,
and from the looks of this latest inexplicable boondoggle,even your back yard may be up for grabs soon!

This is a inteseting paper. It's a pretty known fact that natives did govern themselves, that is besides the point,especially for those who already have that knowledge ( bet you the government knows that: There is certainly no argument.
It seems to me people can sign important documents, and have no say, remember the treaties. Didn't it go something like this, "Give me your land and we will put you on reserves and give advantages galore to others."
That is not justice, justice is to give to those who are disadvantaged, after doing that we can then cry for equality.

Hope there aren't any racists here, hehe.

Seems to me that this agreement was drawn up with the intention of having it fail.


It's a perfectly-executed, diabolical election ploy. Just imagine ...

All the meetings ... all the discussions ... all the dinners ... and all the happy bonding forging the basis for useful political alliances. All legitimate government expenses, fully paid.

Sure they talked about every impossible dream. The technicolour dreams could become a promise ... and the promises could be written into the New Relationship. Everyone happy.

Unbelievably, nobody stopped to say, "Look, you fools, you're trespassing on federal jurisdiction. You're a provincial government proposing to create new federal legislation! Not possible! No legal basis in reality!"

Unbelievable that nobody looked up the precedents, either. They would've found that there is no precedent for vetoes and shared sovereignty.

Just watch. Premier Gamble will campaign on these cruel dreams. He will repeat the promises. He will say "I was ready to give you the MOON and 'they' wouldn't let me ... but if you re-elect me, I'll keep on working for YOU and for this impossible dream. Trust me!"

Remember what he did to the Nisga'a.

The way I read it is this act is not intended to effect 'existing' fee simple land... but what they don't say is that it has been next to impossible for any BC citizen to buy crown land for at least the last decade, and once an agreement like this goes through it will be out of the question.

This deal kills free enterprise and equality of all before the law. It kills what the pioneers that built this great province came here for.

Crown planners have removed all ability for a free enterprise individual to get access to crown land as a fee simple parcel for economic enterprise. This is current fact. Now you can only lease in terms of ten year renewals based on regulatory approval by all the concerning agencies... you can not buy and own land anymore that is not already owned buy someone else. This is why there will be no new farmers, because an existing farm has a monopoly on the market of land and prices new entrants accordingly... the free enterprise aspect has been removed in favor of land monopolies.

This new agreement talks of all Crown lands becoming shared title with 'Aboriginal government' and it covers the entire land base of the province. This means no individual citizen in this province that is not native will ever again be able to buy a fee simple parcel of land with out concessions and subject to future taxation buy the 'Aboriginal government' component of the newly shared title of Crown lands.

This is a document of future slavery for those that are not part of the recognized 'collective'.

This agreement talks of the 'collective' peoples of the 'Aboriginal governance', but in no way defines how that governance is structured nor accountable to its 'collective' membership. By its very 'collective' definition it is racist to all other British Columbians that are not part of the 'collective' special class.

This agreement talks of revenue sharing for its 'partners' in the 'collective' 'Aboriginal governance' that promotes 'third party' 'certainties'... which is double speak for saying multinationals will be accountable to this new and much smaller 'collective' that can easily provide legitimacy (certainty) for their operations.

Multinationals will now only have to work concessions for the 'collective' and not the entire provincial population with all its other various interests such as tourism, mining, forestry, municipalities, hunters, farmers, industrialists, environmentalists, ecologists, and simple home owners.

This is divide and conquer strategy no different than the imperialists used to subject India or China and their peoples in past centuries and in this case "Aboriginal title' is their newest angle to remove provincial democratic sovereignty as the supreme consideration.

We should all be equal citizens as British Columbian's. We need accountability for our Crown resources, but this should be done through regional representation in either a provincial Senate that recognizes that BC is a vastly diverse province with vastly diverse economic considerations... or maybe we need some super MLA's that represent BC's regions and collectively could with a majority veto the corrupted majority population legislation that is harmful to the regions... I would have no argument against the collective voters on the Indian reserves throughout the province having an equal delegate as the regions themselves, and think something like that would be consistent with equality far more then special rights based on ethnicity.