CERTAINTY
What this means in the Treaty Process is ownership, rights and responsibilities and the authority of all the parties (Canada, British Columbia and the First Nation) are laid out in a clear, concise and predictable way. Certainty means – predictability for all parties, something that is lacking right now.
images courtesy BC Archives Collection
Both Governments have in the past had a bottom line of having the First Nation “cede, release and surrender” their aboriginal rights in exchange for treaty rights, this was known as the extinguishment model. First Nations have adamantly rejected this model as it does not achieve certainty for the First Nation and only the Government. This “extinguishment model” was extremely risky for First Nations as it was feared that they would be giving up rights that may not be defined or included in treaty.
More recently, the parties have been exploring a new approach to certainty known as “non-assertion model”. This still requires a lot of work. The basic concept of non-assertion is that the First Nations will promise that as long as the governments implement the treaty the FIRST NATIONS will not assert their rights except in accordance with the treaty. /This moves away from the old idea of giving up rights to a new concept of respectful implementation of treaties by all sides.
images courtesy BC Archives Collection