Minister says B.C. treaty talks can be salvaged But some 'unproductive' tables should be shut down to focus on others, John Duncan claims By Peter O'Neil, Vancouver SunNovember 5, 2011 3:10 AM Indian Affairs Minister John Duncan said Friday he shares the concern of the B.C. government, West Coast first nations and the mining industry over the molasses-slow treaty process that has resulted in just two treaties and $500 million in costs racked up by first nations over two decades. But Duncan rejects any argument that the treaty process, launched with great optimism in 1992, is so broken that it can't be salvaged. B.C. Premier Christy Clark said Thursday she's pushing for development deals outside the treaty process because both her government and first nations are "fed up" waiting for economic progress in treaty talks. Sophie Pierre, head of the B.C. Treaty Commission, said last month the commission should be shaken up or shut down because "bureaucratic inertia" and lack of political will in Ottawa are stalling progress. In May, the Mining Association of B.C. said Ottawa's commitment had "waned" and called on the federal government to show greater leadership on the treaty process. While Duncan said the government's political will is strong, he said he understands why other stakeholders in the treaty process are voicing frustration. "I'm well aware of all of those statements ... and it's a recognition of reality. The process is a slow process," Duncan told The Vancouver Sun on Friday. And he said he'll take responsibility for improving the situation. "I will wear it if there's issues that are obvious that we should be addressing that we're not and I'm prepared to try to make changes." Both the federal and B.C. governments have stressed the importance of boosting Canada's resource sector in the face of a possible global recession and a 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers report said settling treaties could generate $10 billion in economic activity. "We recognize that not having certainty is an impediment to economic development and to the well-being of first nations and society in general," Duncan said. The minister said he agrees with Pierre that 12 to 16 treaties could be completed by 2015 if changes are made. "We could probably do that, and I would consider that great progress, and so that's something that we'll try to do," Duncan said. "And just looking over the next 12 months I think we can contribute to an order of magnitude that would get us there." Duncan said he'll consider encouraging some first nations at "unproductive" tables to abandon talks while more successful negotiations proceed, although he is awaiting a report from a special adviser before moving ahead on that issue. "We agree with the treaty commission and others that some of those tables should probably just be shut down and we should focus on the ones that are making progress," he said. "We have to bring a sense of urgency so you're not actually finding me disagreeing with Sophie on all this. I'm quite supportive of what her direction is." Sixty B.C. first nations, representing roughly two-thirds of the province's aboriginal population, are involved in 49 sets of negotiations. There are 43 first nations negotiating agreements-inprinciple and eight are in the process of finalizing treaties. But only two of them have implemented treaties - the Tsawwassen First Nation and the Maa-nulth First Nation on Vancouver Island's west coast. Three others - the Lheidli T'enneh, Sliammon and Yale first nations - have final treaties that haven't been ratified. pon...@postmedia.com Twitter.com/poneilinottawa Read my blog, Letter from Ottawa, at http: //bit.ly/osX6F5
