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Secwepemc Collaboration. Secwepecmul'ecw, wel me7 yews, wel me7 yews.
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!!!ATTENTION ALL SECWEPEMC!!!
This concerns YOUR Aboriginal Rights and Title to Secwepemcul’ecw.
NOTICE: Adams Lake, Skeetchestn, Splatsin and Tk’emlups have signed a Reconciliation
Framework Agreement (RFA) effective as of April 4, 2013, however they may withdraw within 30
days. The following handout outlines some concerns for the attention of all Secwepemc Citizens.
Whether you are from these communities or not we are all affected.
The meat of this agreement is an “Engagement Model” to “strengthen B.C.’s investment
climate” regarding access to resources in Secwepemcul’ecw.
o This model lists 342 ways the province affects Secwepemc Rights (called an Impact
Matrix)
o Each of these ways is ranked as:
Very Low – unlikely to affect Secwepemc Rights
Low – small affect to Secwepemc Rights
Medium – moderate affect to Secwepemc Rights
High – major to severe affects to Secwepemc Rights
o Each of these levels have a related level of Provincial Duty-to-consult of: None,
Notification, Normal and Deep.
o Each of these levels of consultation have timelines of: Zero Days, 10 Days, 25 days
and 60 days.
o A “Delegated Decision Maker” then decides if the project goes ahead.
o If these timelines are not met the Delegated Decision Maker (a provincial employee)
makes a decision about the project or decides on an extension to the timeline.
Example: Mine Exploration(bigger than 0.6acres) Medium Normal 25 Days Decision
What does this mean?
o This list of 342 possible ways of impacting on your rights DEFINES what your
aboriginal rights are, putting them into 4 categories. YOU as Secwepemc do not
choose this.
o This process completes the Province’s duty-to-consult and the Provincial Delegated
Decision Maker has the final say on whether a project goes ahead or not.
Why is this a concern?
o By signing this agreement and agreeing to its terms the jurisdiction over YOUR right as
a Secwepemc citizen (of one of these bands) to self-determination is effectively
passed over to the province.
o There are 90 days, from April 4th, to adjust the levels of consultation but the result is
the same: plugging your Secwepemc Title and Rights into existing provincial
government land and resource programs and services subject to provincial legislation.
o The province already walks all over us, but we have not agreed to it, once agreements
are made the province then has a receipt, a piece of paper, saying, IN REALITY they
have jurisdiction over the rights of the citizens of the bands on the lands mapped out.
When that bell has rung, there is no un-ringing it. Our children will not be able to say:
“the province has no jurisdiction in Secwepemcul’ecw.” When they want to oppose a
mine and the province approves it, they can’t talk about inherent rights, because
those rights are defined by this agreement and the final decision is the Province’s.
The following are some specific provisions and definitions (in quotations) from the Agreement to
think about:
“18.2 b) Secwepemc band councils have the legal power, capacity and authority to act for, and
on behalf of Secwepemc members with respect to Secwepemc Aboriginal Rights, and to
make the covenants, acknowledgements and representation in this Agreement;
c) Secwepemc have taken all necessary action and obtained all necessary approvals to enter
into this Agreement for, and on behalf of Secwepemc members;”
Sensitive Sites must be “…confirmed through a criteria-based sensitivity assessment by the
Thompson Okanagan Region’s Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations
and included in the TOR (their) Sensitive Site Database.” (e.g. our important Spiritual sites
must be validated and recorded by the government. The technicians or gov’t officials will be
deciding what is sensitive and what is not, according to our law, all land and water is sacred
and sensitive to destruction).
Regarding Traditional Knowledge and information about Sensitive Sites “16.5 (c) if the Province
receives a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act for
disclosure of information received from Secwepemc, the Province will provide Secwepemc
with notice of the request and the opportunity to express any views regarding the
disclosure prior to making any disclosure. (Our Secwepemc Traditional Knowledge and
Sensitive Sites will be accessible to any Canadian citizen!!!)
“20.9 This Agreement is to be governed by the applicable laws of Canada and British Columbia.”
(Secwepemc Laws are not included. The communities signed on this agreement infringe
upon the title and rights which belong to all Secwepemc).
Although the Laurier Memorial is included in the Agreement:
“20.8 The Province’s acknowledgement of the importance of the Sir Wilfred Laurier Memorial to
the Secwepemc does not reflect the Province’s position on the matters described in that
document.”
“Government-to-Government Engagement (G2G) means formal opportunities for bilateral
discussions, which seek to resolve land use and resource management issues in accordance
with the Engagement Model” (final decision maker is the Delegated Decision Maker
provincial official).
This G2G engagement is under “applicable laws of Canada and British Columbia.”
What is “Government” when talking about the Province?
The Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation(MARR) with participating
agencies: Min. of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations; Min. of Energy and
Mines; and Min. of Environment
As you can see from the Government participants and purpose, “to strengthen B.C.’s investment
climate.” This Agreement is about economics, money.
Why does the Province need an agreement with the First Nations to strengthen the B.C.
economy?
Our Aboriginal Rights are in Section 35(1) of the Canadian Constitution
The Supreme Court in the 1997 Delgamuukw decision recognized Aboriginal Title.
The Province does not hold legal title to the lands of B.C.
This means, without this Agreement, from the perspective of industry: the ownership of
lands and resources is not clear; the real decision maker over the use of land resources is
not clear; and despite the Province granting permits we still have Land Claims cases, and
direct action (e.g. blockades). From the industry perspective, the Permit from the
Province is NOT the be-all-end-all, because their timelines can still be screwed up.
Predictable timelines are VERY important because companies have to borrow money for
their projects and their INVESTORS would rather invest in something more predictable.
This is why industry comes to First Nations and offers them bits of money for consent.
This situation is called ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY. This scares away investors; this
weakens the Provincial economy; this reduces possible tax revenues for the Province.
Because the Province does not recognize Aboriginal Title in practice, this creates
economic uncertainty.
Why is this so important?
This Reconciliation agreement is all about an “Engagement Process.”
o This means CLEARLY defining the extent of Aboriginal Rights;
o CLEARLY defining the TIMELINE that the province will fulfill its duty to consult;
o ACCEPTING that the final decision is made by a provincial Delegated Decision Maker
o NEVER recognizing Aboriginal Title
by plugging Secwepemc Title and Rights into existing provincial government land and
resource programs and services subject to provincial legislation; by accepting the terms of
this agreement, ECONOMIC CERTAINTY IS ACHIEVED.
Once economic certainty is achieved, the Province has NO incentive to negotiate further
Secwepemc Rights and certainly has NO incentive to talk about Secwepemc Title. Crown Economic
UNcertainty is our biggest negotiating chip for having our Secwepemc TITLE recognized in practice.
(Crown) Economic Uncertainty is (but not limited to):
IdleNoMore events, demonstrations and teach-ins
A greater presence on the land
Asserting Secwepemc law for all to follow, monitoring all uses of land (territorial authority)
Creating our own permitting processes and environmental laws
Rejecting provincial jurisdiction through Secwepemc National Governance
The negotiating leverage of
economic uncertainty requires
more than one or two or four
communities. Secwepemcul’ecw
has billions and billions of dollars
in economic leverage buried in the
ground, this is why all Secwepemc
need to work together. Two
communities here and 4
communities there and another 5
communities over there just won’t
do it. Secwepemcul’ecw needs to
be economically unified.
Secwepemcul’ecw, wel me7 yews, wel me7 yews
This is the map included in the RFA. Simpcw (the blue) has since pulled out of the Agreement.
Neskonlith (part of the Lakes Division – Pink) has also pulled out of the Agreement. NOTE that the
Skeetchestn-Tk’emlups Division has claimed in their territory the main community of St’uxwtews
(Bonaparte, just north of Cache Creek). (“Secwepemc” is defined in this agreement as the 6
signatory communities, not the 17 Secwepemc communities.)