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Contents
1. What are "Interest-Based Negotiations"?
Treaty negotiations involve a multitude of complex and competing
public policy issues, many of which are intensified by the
interconnections between communities and organizations in
the urban setting.
It is often said that the BC Treaty Process is "interest-based".
What this means is that the parties at the treaty table first
identify a list of key issues for negotiation. Such issues
include topics like land, resources and Aboriginal self-government.
Under each issue, a number of interests are then identified.
On the issue of land, for example, one interest of the negotiating
parties is to ensure that privately-owned land is not available
for treaty settlement.
In negotiations, there is sometimes a need to take defined
"positions". Positions are specific proposals for
or solutions to a given issue. In an interest-based process,
the negotiators try to "look under" the positions
to determine the underlying interests of the parties and the
rationale for their concerns.
Key Terms Used in Treaty Negotiations
- Issue (also called "key substantive issue"):
the general topic under discussion (e.g. lands, resources,
governance)
- Interest: the underlying need to be addressed.
Interests can often be satisfied in more than one way. Interests
can be identified by asking the question: why?
- Principle: a primary or fundamental interest which
ties together or binds all others. Principles are typically
broad in scope (eg. treaties should uphold the Canadian
Constitution).
- Position: are specific proposals or solutions that
can only be satisfied in one way
2. What Makes Urban Treaties Different?
There are numerous reasons why urban treaty agreements will
be different from rural treaty agreements. The successful
implementation of treaties in urban centres is complicated
by a number of factors including:
- complex network of existing government structures and
management regimes;
- numerous competing private interests;
- unique economic development and land use considerations;
- limited available Crown land for treaty settlements;
- higher population densities;
- an absence of past models to provide insight on how relationships
with other governments may develop in the post-treaty urban
environment.
In Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand -
countries where there have been predominant Aboriginal rights
movements - there are few existing precedents that can be
utilized to assess the impacts of comprehensive urban treaty
settlements or of local government participation in treaty
implementation.
In short, treaties in urban areas will have a more visible
impact on communities, and there will be a need to adapt urban
treaties to the realities of the urban setting.
Lower Mainland First Nations Population
Map
3. Role of Local Governments - LMTAC's
Perspective
A review of Framework Agreements (Stage 3) across British
Columbia reveals that many of the issues of interest to First
Nations involved in treaty negotiations are also the responsibility
and/or interest of local governments. There is a practical
necessity for ensuring that local governments are integral
part of treaty negotiations and post-treaty implementation.
Local governments in British Columbia are recognized as an
independent, responsible and accountable order of government.
While they share similar functions and responsibilities, the
character of local governments is as unique as the communities
they serve. Issues arising in one municipality or regional
district are often markedly different from those arising in
others.
In spite of their differences, local governments also share
important commonalties:
- Local government is the most accessible and responsive
level of government, closest to its constituents, and often
staffed by members of the community and local citizens.
The importance of the role of the public (and of public
processes) is a central defining characteristic of local
government. Public involvement in local government activities
includes well established decision-making and advisory processes,
all of which are integral functions of local government.
- Local governments are also the implementing arm of government,
dealing with both hard (e.g. water, sewers) and soft (e.g.
community centres, planning) service delivery issues. As
such, local governments tend to be pragmatic and practical
organizations that seek to develop and implement "on-the-ground"
solutions to important community issues.
In sum, there is a need to recognize that treaties will be
implemented at the local level and that day-to-day relationships
in the post treaty environment will be between neighbouring
Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities.
The successful implementation of treaties is inextricably
tied to the direct participation of local governments in treaty
negotiations and to the recognition by all parties that local
governments are an important community-based form of public
government, not a third-party interest.
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