Whereas the governments of British Columbia and Canada are in the process of negotiating treaties with First Nations in British Columbia; And whereas these treaty negotiations are being conducted in closed meetings, which are not public, open and transparent; And whereas Crown tenure and licence holders have not been consulted, nor have their interests been represented or properly considered: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the treaty negotiators and the governments of British Columbia and Canada to commit to: a Increased openness and transparency in all treaty negotiations; and b Timely, meaningful consultation with all affected third parties.
Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Government is committed to ensuring that local government and other stakeholders are meaningfully engaged in the BC treaty process and other negotiations. The Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation MARR and UBCM have a memorandum of understanding MOU which sets out how MARR engages with local governments around treaty and other negotiations. BC is working with UBCM and local government members to implement the MOU and continue to bring it to life in communities across the province. Also, MARR is strengthening its approach to stakeholder engagement, including local governments, around treaty and other negotiations. MARR is implementing enhanced engagement principles that serve as clear instructions to negotiators. The core of these principles is that MARR is transparent and seeks input at the earliest stages and throughout negotiations from stakeholders, local governments, tenure and license holders and members of the public. This includes those who do not have tenures, but use or access Crown land. This engagement must be meaningful, and any input that MARR receives must be fully considered as mandates and negotiating positions are being developed.