A treaty will bring certainty with respect to each Maa-nulth
First Nation’s rights to use, own and manage lands and resources throughout its
claimed traditional territory. It will provide the Maa-nulth First Nations with
modern governance tools to build strong and workable relationships with other
governments, including federal, provincial and local governments.
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The five Maa-nulth First
Nations are Ucluelet First Nation, Huu-ay-aht First Nations, Toquaht Nation,
Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/ Che:k'tles7et'h' First Nations, and Uchucklesaht Tribe. All
are located on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The Maa-nulth First
Nations, whose communities are in the areas of Bamfield, Ucluelet, Alberni
Inlet, and Kyuquot Sound, have a combined population of approximately 2,000
people.
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Land
- The
Final Agreement land package consists of a total of approximately 24,550
hectares of treaty settlement lands (including former reserves) that will
be held in fee-simple title. Each Maa-nulth First Nation government will
have law-making authority over its land, although federal and provincial
laws will continue to apply along with current Maa-nulth First Nation
laws.
§
Huu-ay-aht First Nations: 1,077 hectares of former
reserves and 7,181 hectares of additional lands
§
Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nations: 379
hectares of former reserves and 5,920 hectares of additional lands
§
Toquaht Nation: 196 hectares of former reserves and
1,293 hectares of additional lands
§
Uchucklesaht Tribe: 233 hectares of former reserves and
2,834 hectares of additional lands
§
Ucluelet First Nation: 199 hectares of former reserves
and 5,147 hectares of additional lands, and a further 92 hectares of land
acquired by Canada and British Columbia.
- The
land will be held in fee simple by the Maa-nulth First Nations. Fee-simple
ownership gives the Maa-nulth First Nations the flexibility to manage
their lands and generate long-term economic benefits.
Maa-nulth First
Nations Role off Treaty Settlement Lands
The Agreement sets
out the role of Maa-nulth First Nations in their traditional territories, such
as hunting of wildlife and migratory birds.
Financial Components
- Capital
transfers over 10 years, less any outstanding negotiation loans.
§
Huu-ay-aht First Nations: $22.2 million
§
Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nations: $18.5
million
§
Toquaht Nation: $4,.7 million
§
Uchucklesaht Tribe: $6.1 million
§
Ucluelet First Nation: $21.6 million
- Over a
25-year period, it is estimated that the Maa-nulth First Nations will
receive $1.2 million in annual resource revenue sharing payments – actual
payments will vary depending on actual provincial stumpage revenues.
Huu-ay-aht First Nations will receive an additional $900,000 payment over
five years.
§
Huu-ay-aht First Nations: $350,000
§
Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nations: $300,000
§
Toquaht Nation: $70,000
§
Uchucklesaht Tribe: $100,000
§
Ucluelet First Nation: $380,000
- The Maa-nulth
First Nations will deliver agreed-upon programs and services and undertake
implementation activities as described in the Fiscal Financing Agreement.
The agreement provides annual transfers from Canada and British Columbia
to the Maa-nulth First Nations, in the form of time-limited and ongoing
funding.
Time-limited funding
§
Huu-ay-aht First Nations: $13.2 million
§
Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nations: $11
million
§
Toquaht Nation: $4.5 million
§
Uchucklesaht Tribe: $5.6 million
§
Ucluelet First Nation: $13 million
Ongoing funding
§
Huu-ay-aht First Nations: $2.2 million
§
Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nations: $2.9
million
§
Toquaht Nation: $760,000
§
Uchucklesaht Tribe: $1.1 million
§
Ucluelet First Nation: $2.9 million
Forestry
- The
Maa-nulth First Nations will own and manage the forest resources on treaty
settlement lands consistent with provincial standards for private lands.
Wildlife, Migratory Birds
- The
Maa-nulth First Nations will have the right to harvest wildlife and
migratory birds for food, social and ceremonial purposes within specified
areas, subject to conservation measures, public health and public safety
regulations.
- The federal and provincial
ministers will retain authority, within their respective jurisdictions, to
manage wildlife and migratory birds.
- Existing guide outfitter
tenures and registered traplines have been identified and protected.
Fish
- Under the treaty, each Maa-nulth
First Nation will have the right to harvest fish and aquatic plants for
food, social and ceremonial purposes, limited by measures necessary for
conservation, public health or public safety.
- A harvest agreement,
separate from the treaty, provides for commercial fishing licences to be
issued to the Maa-nulth First Nations. The terms and conditions of commercial
licences issued to the Maa-nulth First Nations will be comparable to the
terms and conditions for licences held by other fishers in the general
commercial fishery.
Culture and Heritage
·
The Maa-nulth First Nations may make laws on treaty
settlement lands to conserve and protect Maa-nulth First Nation culture and
language, to deal with ancient human remains and to regulate access to
Maa-nulth First Nation cultural heritage resources.
·
Some of the Maa-nulth First Nation artifacts in the
Royal British Columbia Museum, Canadian Museum of Civilization and Parks Canada
collections will be transferred to the Maa-nulth First Nations.
·
The Maa-nulth
First Nations will have a role with respect to the manner and extent to which
Maa-nulth culture will be reflected in the management of federal and provincial
parks.
Governance
- The
Maa-nulth Final Agreement will operate within the framework of the
Constitution of Canada, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
will apply to the Maa-nulth First Nation governments.
- Each
Maa-nulth First Nation will have a constitution that provides for a
government that is democratically and financially accountable to the
Maa-nulth-aht (those people who are enrolled in, and will benefit from,
the treaty) and Maa-Nulth First Nation citizens.
- The
Maa-nulth First Nation governments will be accountable to Canada and
British Columbia for financial transfers they receive from them, so the
government that provides the funding can ensure that public funds were
used for their intended purposes.
- With
the exception of determining Indian status, after a transition period the
Indian Act will no longer apply to Maa-nulth First Nations, their lands or
members.
- At the
discretion of each Maa-nulth First Nation, its constitution may provide
for the appointment of Ha’wiih (Nuu-chah-nulth hereditary chiefs) into its
government structure.
- The Maa-nulth First Nations will have
law-making authority over such matters as culture, governance, lands,
education in kindergarten to Grade 12 and adoption as set out in the Final
Agreement.
Taxation
- In the context of treaty negotiations, each Maa-nulth First Nation
government will have the ability to levy direct taxes on its members citizens within its
treaty settlement lands.
- Section
87 Indian Act exemptions for transaction and other taxes will be phased
out after eight and 12 years, respectively.
- Each Maa-nulth
First Nation government will provide that non-Maa-nulth First Nation
members who ordinarily reside on Maa-nulth First Nation Lands, and
registered owners of real property (or their representatives) who do not
ordinarily reside on Maa-nulth First Nation Lands, will have the ability
to participate in discussions and vote on taxation decisions that directly
and significantly affect them, including the rate of tax, tax exemptions
and the expenditure of tax revenues.
Next Steps
- By
initialling the Final Agreement, the chief negotiators for Canada, British
Columbia and each Maa-nulth First Nation recommend that their respective
principals ratify the agreement.
- The
first step in the ratification process is acceptance of the Final
Agreement by the Maa-nulth First Nations. A community approval process
will be initiated by the each Maa-nulth First Nation.
- If
the Maa-nulth First Nation communities ratify the Final Agreement, British
Columbia will then proceed through its ratification process. Settlement
legislation will be introduced into the Legislative Assembly, where it
will be debated.
- If
British Columbia ratifies the Final Agreement, Canada will proceed through
its ratification process. Settlement legislation would be introduced in
Parliament, where it will be debated.
- Once
enacted through legislation, the Final Agreement will become a treaty.
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Fact
sheets and a summary of the Maa-nulth Final Agreement are available online at: www.gov.bc.ca/arr; www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/bc/treapro/ston/nwdev/nwdev_e.html;
and www.maanulth.ca
For more information, please call the toll-free line for the
Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, 1 800-880-1022.
