WHEREAS open and principled community based agreements with Aboriginal people treaties may encompass multiple local governments, but the availability of the land component may be vastly different from one local government to the next; AND WHEREAS there is a real long-term cost associated with the removal of lands from local government jurisdictions, which may place a burden solely on the land-owning local governments: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Province of British Columbia be requested to include a formula to fairly compensate any local government for the loss of land as a result of settlement agreement with Aboriginal people so that all the parties who benefit from the agreement share the costs and benefits of the agreement equally.
Ministry of Aboriginal Relations Reconciliation The Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Ministry recognizes that local governments are concerned about the transfers of Crown land from within local government jurisdictions and the implications for local government in terms of loss of tax base. The Province and UBCM addressed this issue in the 2005 report Treaty Settlement Land: The Fiscal Impacts on Local Governments which noted that local governments have the ability to mitigate any adverse effects by establishing servicing agreements with First Nations that would generate revenue. Local governments and First Nations need to build trust and respect in order to make these service arrangements successful. The collaborative relationships built between local governments and the Tsawwassen and the Maa-nulth First Nations are examples of what can be achieved when neighbouring communities work together. The Ministry will continue to be instrumental in supporting these relationships by facilitating, where possible, the negotiation of servicing agreements.