The K’Omoks First Nation has taken the next step towards becoming a self-governing First Nation.
Joined by representatives from the Federal and Provincial Governments, chief negotiators of all three parties initialled the draft K’Omoks Treaty on Monday, July 22 at the K’Omoks First Nation Community Hall.
K’Omoks Chief Negotiator Mark Stevenson said public input played a key role in the First Nation’s side of the negotiation in making sure the people got what they asked for.
“You wanted all these things and so we set those out as the winning conditions,” he says. “That became our treaty mandate the winning conditions and I am very proud to say that every single one of those have now been met.”
Public input from community members included rights being recognized and not abolished, a final agreement instead of a living agreement, and not having to give up their tax exemptions.
The process has been in the work for over 30 years between the K’Omoks First Nation, the province, and Canada.
B.C. Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Murray Rankin congratulated all sides on the long negotiation.
“Decades of hard work by the negotiating teams and deep engagement with K’Omoks members, other people throughout the region, other First Nations, local governments and industry partners have shown us what we can achieve when we work shoulder to shoulder,” Rankin says.
A treaty ratification vote will now be held by the K’Omoks First Nation and if ratified, the process will go through provincial and federal legislation.
The treaty is expected to be fully ratified in three years, with the treaty projected to be in effect for 2028.
