[S.I.S.I.S. note: Following is the full text of a report by BC's NDP provincial government, leaked on February 10, 1998, regarding the implications of the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision on the Delgamuukw (Gitxsan & Wet'suwet'en) land claims case.]

The First Nations Summit is seeking a meeting with the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and the Premier early in 1998. The Summit will expect discussion of the results of the overload report, the Delgamuukw decision, and the need to revitalize the treaty process.

Resource Industries have expressed their concerns surrounding the treaty process and its ability to achieve the certainty required in the Province. The Delgamuukw decision has further emphasized the need for certainty. The resource industries have requested from government a reaction to the decision, both in terms of current consultation policies and in terms of the treaty process. The oil and gas industry in particular has expressed concern about their ability to continue to do business in the Province absent a clear direction from government on how it will address the implications of the Delgamuukw decision.

The Minister of Aboriginal Affairs met with the Treaty Negotiation Advisory Committee on December 12, 1997 to discuss certainty and the impacts of the Delgamuukw decision. Members expressed serious concern surrounding the lack of certainty in light of the decision. The Minister sent the following preliminary messages to TNAC:

- The Province will be consulting with third parties and First Nations about what the consultation obligation means and how to best implement it.

- The Delgamuukw decision clearly calls for a balancing of third party interests and aboriginal interests.

Project Managers: Jack Ebbels, Deputy Minister, Aboriginal Affairs; Maureen Maloney, Deputy Attorney General

Participations: Ministries of: Aboriginal Affairs, Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Attorney General, Employment and Investment, Environment, Lands and Parks, Forests, Small Business, Tourism and Culture, Transportation and Highways, Treasury Board Staff, Cabinet Planning and Coordination Secretariat.

Approach:

1. Analysis by the Ministry of Attorney General regarding the Delgamuukw decision with respect to the impact on:

- the current status of the law surrounding aboriginal rights and title

- the Province's duty to consult with respect to aboriginal rights and title in making land and resource use decisions

-line ministry consultation practices and recommended changes to current consultation policies and practices

- federal/provincial obligations for compensation for infringement of title and rights

2. Appoint a cross-government committee to develop a report to Cabinet which will:

- review the results of the legal analysis

- review the current approach to consultation undertaken by line agencies

- identify policy requirements to meet any new obligations

- identify financial obligations on the part of Canada to address compensation for infringment.

Due: January 20, 1998.
Responsibility: Jack Ebbels, Deputy Minister, Aboriginal Affairs; John Allan, Deputy Minister, Forests

3. Develop a broad-based communications strategy with respect to government's response to Delgamuukw which will position the government as:

- meeting its legal obligations with respect to land and resource use decision-making.

- protecting the interests of economic development of the Province.

- supporting continued negotiations to resolve claims to aboriginal rights and title through the treaty process.

- continuing to focus on certainty as the key goal of negotiations.

Due January 9, 1998.
Responsibility: Gloria Williams, Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs

Project Managers: Jack Ebbels, Deputy Minister, Aboriginal Affairs; Maureen Maloney, Deputy Attorney General

Participation: DMCAA, Ministry of Attorney General, Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, Treasury Board Staff, Cabinet Planning and Coordination Sectetariat, Line Agencies as required

Approach:

1. Analysis by the Ministry of Attorney General regarding the Delgamuukw decision with respect to the impact on:

- the current status of the law surrounding aboriginal rights

- the Province's duty to consult with respect to aboriginal rights and title in making land and resource use decisions

- federal/provincial obligations for compensation for infringment of title and rights

2. Prepare a report to Cabinet on the implications of the Delgamuukw decision regarding:

- existing treaty mandates and negotiating instructions

- the current process for negotiating treaties, including First Nations funding and capacity building

-the current approach to interim measures in treaty negotiations, including cost sharing with Canada

- recommendations to change current negotiating instructions and mandates, the process of negotiations and the approach to interim measures.

3. Discuss with Canada:

- implications of Delgamuukw decision on Canada's responsibilities with respect to aboriginal title, surrender requirements and certainty

- implications of Delgamuukw decision on federal and provincial positions regarding overlap

- cost-sharing of interim measures

- cost-sharing for compensation as a result of infringment of aboriginal rights and title

- necessary changes to the treaty negotiation process to address the system overload report

- the possibility of some form of Province-wide or regional negotiations

4. Negotiate changes to the treaty process, including interim measures, with Canada and the First Nations Summit which will address:

- current problems with the negotiating process identified in the BCTC [BC Treaty Commission] "System Overload Report", including problems associated with negotiation funding

- changes required to the process as a result of the Delgamuukw decision

-the capacity of individual First Nations to effectively participate in treaty negotiations

5. With the assistance of the BCTC, develop a tripartite strategy for implementation of recommended changes to the treaty negotiation process, including:

- changes to the stages of negotiations, such as inclusion of a capacity building stage, Interim measures, negotiations surrounding resource management and land selection

- Implementation of changes to the system of negotiation support funding, funding for interim measures, and funding for capacity building

- development of a communications plan

[S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context. It is provided for reference only.]

The B.C. government has acknowledged for the first time that the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling on the Delgamuukw land claim could have "significant impacts" on the province.

A leaked government document says the attorney-general's ministry has suggested the ruling may have given B.C. Indian bands the power to stop development on their tribal lands.

The document, marked "strictly confidential," also says the government may have to pay "compensation or damages" to Indian bands as a result of the controversial Dec. 11 ruling.

"The duty to consult with First Nations prior to making land and resource use decisions...will be significantly more strictly defined, possibly including the requirement for a First Nation to consent prior to such decisions being made," it says.

The leaked eight-page document was released Tuesday by the B.C. Liberal party, who sent it to Premier Glen Clark with a copy of a recent poll and a letter demanding he change his government's approach to treaty negotiations.

According to the MarkTrend poll, 72 per cent of British Columbians feel they have not been adequately consulted about the tentative Nisga'a treaty and 68 per cent want a province-wide referendum on land claims.

The Jan. 5-7 poll was commission by the Citizens' Voice on Native Claims, an interest group that has been critical of the way B.C. and Canada are handling treaty talks. It is accurate plus or minus four per cent, 19 times out of 20.

The Liberals claim the poll suggests that while the province is talking about changing the treaty process to accommodate the high court decision and growing Indian expectations, public opinion is moving the other way.

"The poll...points to a serious gap between what the public wants from treaties and what the government plans to negotiate on their behalf," Liberal leader Gordon Campbell wrote in the letter.

Campbell said the province must insist that Indian tribes surrender their aboriginal rights as a precondition for settling treaties. He also challenged Clark to put B.C.'s treaty mandate to a province-wide vote.

But that is sure to be controversial among First Nations, who insist they will never give up their aboriginal land rights. The concept of referendums has also been dismissed as impractical by both government and tribal officials.

In its ruling on the Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'en land claims, the Supreme Court redefined aboriginal land rights as being more far-reaching than had been previously recognized.

The decision has thrown B.C.'s four-year-old aboriginal treaty-making process into disarray as government and tribal leaders scramble to figure out what it means in practical terms.

Most experts agree it has strengthened the aboriginal bargaining position in ongoing treaty talks, but the provincial government has not yet said how it intends to respond.

According to the leaked report, B.C. officials met with their federal and tribal counterparts two days after the court ruling and agreed "that the credibility of the treaty process is in question and that changes are required in short order if the process is to be revitalized."

The provincial government fears bands may abandon treaty negotiations and instead take their claims to court. As a result, B.C. drafted an "action plan to identify and address [the] impacts of the Delgamuukw decision."

[S.I.S.I.S. note: NDP Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Cashore has rejected any halt on lands development subject to "claims". Cashore termed such a move "irresponsible", and would send the wrong signals to international investors: "We intend to carry on with our responsibility which is to keep the economy vibrant and healthy."]

Full text of December 11, 1997 ruling:
   http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/clark/97delrul.html

Index of Delgamuukw/Gitksan articles, analysis, and commentary:
   http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/clark/gitksan.html

Background information on Delgamuukw case:
   http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/clark/scchoax.html