Lheidli T'enneh Meet With Minister Abbott

By Michelle Cyr-Whiting

Prince George, B.C. -  Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Minister George Abbott is calling a meeting with the Chief and Council of the Lheidli T'enneh Band "very positive and constructive."

Abbott met with Chief Dominic Frederick and Band Councillors in Prince George yesterday for an update on the Council's efforts to once again hold a ratification vote on an Agreement-in-Principle reached with the Province and Federal Government in the Treaty process.  The Treaty package is worth an estimated $75-million dollars in land, cash, and other issues.  The first vote on the treaty occurred in 2007 and fell just short of 50-percent, while the threshold for ratification was 60-percent.

"The Band has been doing quite extensive work with respect to the possibility of again potentially having another ratification vote," says Abbott. 

"Obviously, there were members of the Band who weren’t feeling comfortable with the content of the Treaty (in 2007), so, among the issues we discussed (Tuesday), was how can we ensure that every Band member is not only enrolled for the vote, but that every Band member – should a vote occur – has the opportunity to be fully informed about all of the implications, positive and negative, to moving to the Treaty."

The Minister says the Federal Government has advised the Lheidli T'enneh it would like a decision by the end of November with respect to whether the Band will hold another vote.  But Abbott emphasizes the decision rests solely with the Band and community.  He does says it sounds optimistic, based on discussions during the local meeting, that there is the potential for the community to consider the issue again. 

Should the Lheidli T'enneh decide not to proceed or if the future vote fails, Abbott says, "At that point, we would accept the decision of the community."

"The reason why it’s important to have that direction from the community is that the current mandate from the Federal/Provincial governments towards the Treaty has been in place now for about four years."  Abbott says the province has been protecting Crown land for the package and preventing it from other uses, while Ottawa has set aside a financial package.  So, he says, if the Treaty is not acceptable, all parties need to move on and, perhaps, sit down and start again at some future point.

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