Treaty Negotiations and Third-Party Interests

Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, Province of British Columbia

Information about . . .

Treaty Negotiations and Third-Party Interests

What are Third Parties?

Third parties are those members of the public who have a direct stake in the outcome of treaty and pre-treaty agreements in a particular area. They include land and resource users and Crown lease and licence holders.

Principles of Openness outlined at the 1994 Union of British Columbia Municipalities Convention are intended to ensure the interests and concerns of all British Columbians are considered throughout negotiations, including discussions of pre-treaty (or interim measures) agreements.

All negotiators are guided by these principles:

Openness must be the starting point for treaty negotiations, with any closed negotiations the exception, not the rule;
Treaties must represent the interests of local governments, the public and third parties, who must have meaningful input into the negotiation process;
Province-wide mandates must reflect the interests of all British Columbians and will be made public;
British Columbians must have access to information and the province will provide regular reports on the status of negotiations;
All agreements-in-principle will be subject to public review and all final agreements will be sent to the legislature for debate and ratification.

Public Information

If treaties are going to succeed, it is crucial that all British Columbians be included in the process of change. The province is committed to making sure that all British Columbians receive the information they need to fully understand the treaty negotiation process and have ample opportunity to make their concerns about the process known before and during treaty negotiations. Province-wide mandates will be made public. These mandates, which set out the provincial approach, will reflect the interests of all British Columbians.

Advisory Committees

Provincial negotiators must get advice from third parties, local governments and regional caucuses. The four consultation groups the provincial government will rely on for information and advice as negotiations progress are:

TNAC

The 31-member Treaty Negotiation Advisory Committee (TNAC), includes provincial organizations whose members may be directly affected by treaty settlements. Committee members come from business, labour, environmental, recreational, fish and wildlife groups and municipal governments.

Each TNAC member also sits on one of five sub-committees: energy, mines and petroleum resources; fisheries; lands and governance, and wildlife. These sub-committees meet monthly with members of the provincial and federal governments exchange information and ideas. These committees are a vital resource in identifying the province-wide interests of third parties. TNAC has been operational for more than two years and has developed broad statements of interests.

TACs

An agreement between the Province of British Columbia and Union of B.C. Municipalities signed September, 1994, provides for local government consultation processes in each treaty area. Local government Treaty Advisory Committees (TACs) enable local government representatives to discuss issues and interests, advise provincial negotiators on local government issues and participate on provincial negotiating teams.

RACs

Regional Advisory Committees advise both provincial and federal negotiators and include representatives from the key social and economic sectors in a region where negotiations are occurring. A RAC may include representatives from local business, education, health, community service, environment, forest companies, forest contractors/operators/independents, labour, local government, outdoor recreation, sports fishing, trapping and wildlife organizations.

Regional Caucus

Each provincial negotiating team has a Regional Caucus of local provincial ministry and Crown corporation representatives that advises provincial negotiators on a monthly basis. In addition, each TAC sends a representative to participate on the Regional Caucus.

For further information on this or other topics, contact:

Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs
Communications Branch
PO Box 9100 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria BC V8W 9B1

Or visit 1st Floor, 908 Pandora Avenue, Victoria, B.C.
Telephone: (250) 356-0330 or toll-free at 1-800-880-1022
Fax: (250) 387-1785

URL: http://www.aaf.gov.bc.ca/aaf/pubs/3rdpty.htm
Last Update: 1996 Dec 10 by Webmaster