The BC Treaty Process: Dealing in Duress

Every Final Agreement produced in the BC Treaty Commission's "modern day treaty" process has been the subject of court action and human rights complaints, and has caused searing divisions within the Indigenous community engaged in it. Why are Agreements which are criticized in UN human rights committees still being sought by Indigenous communities? Because the present day alternative - abject poverty or open confrontations with the police and government - is forcing them to take the...
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Every Final Agreement produced in the BC Treaty Commission's "modern day treaty" process has been the subject of court action and human rights complaints, and has caused searing divisions within the Indigenous community engaged in it. Why are Agreements which are criticized in UN human rights committees still being sought by Indigenous communities? Because the present day alternative - abject poverty or open confrontations with the police and government - is forcing them to take the only means available to keep their people in houses, to start businesses, to access a small part of the wealth of their own lands. The BC treaty process affords loans and investment - and then results in the extinguishment of aboriginal title, the modification of all aboriginal rights, and a settlement package too small to sustain even the next generation of people.Meanwhile, Indigenous Peoples have the same rights as any other peoples in the world, and they have the right not to be subject to genocide: "deliberately imposing conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the group."With excerpts from open letters, UN Human Rights Council committees, and press statements.