Celebrating Approval of Tsawwassen Treaty

By 250 News

The  Treaty negotiation process  in B.C.  has  survived its second test with the passage of the  treaty negotiated with the Tsawwassen Nation.

The vote was 69.5% in favour of the package which provides a cash transfer of $13.9 million and a land transfer totalling 724 hectares. 

"The treaty represents our final break from the Indian Act - through self-government, not assimilation," said Kim Baird, Chief of the Tsawwassen First Nation. "Independent and self-defining, our government will be recognized as such when we join the Greater Vancouver Regional District, and will finally have access to water as well as autonomy over our land-use planning. We look forward to the real work that lies ahead and implementing our treaty and rebuilding our community."

The passage of this treaty was seen as a major test for the Treaty process as the Lheidli T’enneh had rejected the final agreement  in their vote  this past  spring.  There has been an extensive review of the  vote and why it ended up the way it did.  The results of that review  are now in the hands of the Lheidl T’enneh.  The band is still going over that report.

One major difference in the two votes was the threshold  for acceptance.  The Lheidli T’enneh had  set 70%  in favour as their  acceptance mark.  The Tsawwassen Nation had  set  an acceptance level of 50 per cent plus one of the members on the registered voters list. 

The City of Prince George and the Regional District of Fraser Fort George have  asked the Federal and Provincial Governmnets to hold on to the lands promised under the Lheidli T’enneh  final agreement until the end of March  2008  in the event the Lheidli T’enneh  should decide  they would like to  have a second vote on that agreement.

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