Ottawa, B.C. to share land claim costs

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Ottawa and the province of British Columbia have reached an agreement over the cost-sharing of outstanding land claims.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding between the federal and provincial government over the sharing of pre-treaty, settlement, implementation and self-government costs, the federal government will absorb up to 90 per cent of the cash costs while the province will provide most of the land.

B.C. Aboriginal affairs Minister Andrew Petter and former federal Indian Affairs Minister Tom Siddon signed the agreement June 21, removing the last barrier to treaty negotiations in a province riddled with land claims.

"British Columbians have told us to get on with the job and get on with it quickly," Siddon said. "This agreement will help us to do just that."

A sliding scale will be used to calculate the sharing of cash between the two governments. B.C.'s share would not exceed 25 per cent nor drop below 10 per cent.

Both Siddon and Petter said that private lands are not part of the deal and that all treaty settlements must be economically possible.

"Quite simply, we won't agree to any settlements that we can't afford," Petter said.

Joe Mathias, Chief of the Squamish First Nation and spokesman for the B.C. First Nations Summit, said the agreement represents a commitment of sorts from Ottawa and the province.

Neither Ottawa nor the province could ever fully compensate Natives for the loss of land and resources, he said. But the memorandum does represent something more than the usual government rhetoric.

The Memorandum of Understanding marks the fourth stage in the B.C. land claims process, Siddon said. The series began with the creation of the British Columbia Claims Task Force in December 1990, followed by the establishment of the B.C. Treaty Commission in September 1992 and the appointment of the treaty's commissioners in April 1993.