Monday, October 22, 2007

Tsawwassen First Nation Final Agreement Act
Second Reading of Bills

It's an honour for me to rise today in this House in the traditional territories of the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations to support Bill 40, Tsawwassen First Nation Final Agreement Act.

This act, if passed in this House, will lead to a similar act put before the Canadian House of Commons for approval. If it's passed in the House of Commons, this Tsawwassen First Nation final agreement will be the first treaty reached under the B.C. treaty process.

I would like to congratulate Chief Kim Baird and the members of the Tsawwassen First Nation for their vision and courage in engaging in this modern treaty process. It shows that when stakeholders such as the first nation, the provincial government and the federal government put aside their differences and engage in sincere negotiations, agreement can be reached to benefit all.

Although in this case it took almost four years to reach this stage — since December 2003, when the Tsawwassen First Nation entered the modern treaty process — it's a relatively short time in view of the long period of time when there were no treaties between the Tsawwassen First Nation and the federal and provincial governments.

The Tsawwassen First Nation is completely controlled by the Indian Act. The Tsawwassen First Nation treaty will free the people of the Tsawwassen First Nation gradually from the Indian Act, creating a better environment for them to manage their own affairs.

This treaty will help the Tsawwassen community develop its economy, create jobs and provide a better quality of life for its members. Moreover, I believe that it will also reduce the conflicts between the aboriginal people and others. If disputes arise in the future, this treaty will provide a process for timely and practical resolution, as indicated in chapter 22, "Dispute Resolution."

This treaty will also allow the Tsawwassen First Nation to function as a government, to make laws on treaty settlement lands to protect its culture and language. It defines the rights and responsibilities of the Tsawwassen people in their traditional territory.

This treaty clarifies who owns what and who has the legal authority over the resources and land. Hence, it provides certainty to business transactions, and it certainly will enhance the confidence of the investment community, which will lead to economic benefits for all British Columbians.

Under the Indian Act, inequality is common between aboriginal people and other Canadians. This treaty will lead to greater self-reliance for the Tsawwassen First Nation community and will help to close the social and economic gaps between them and other British Columbians, while it continues to be governed by the Canadian constitution, including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the criminal laws of Canada.

Under this agreement, the Tsawwassen First Nation will receive cash, land, natural resources and funding for self-government. As in any negotiation, the final agreement may not give 100 percent of what one party wants. Rather, it's a process involving gives and takes.

The final agreement may not be the perfect agreement, as we can hear from the feedback from the aboriginal communities as well as from the non-aboriginal communities, but I believe that this treaty is a landmark for future treaties in British Columbia as the province moves forward to a new relationship with the first nations based on mutual respect, reconciliation and recognition of aboriginal rights and title.

I believe the success of this new relationship policy is largely due to the vision and the leadership of our Premier and the First Nations Leadership Council. Concrete actions such as the $100 million new relationship trust, established in March 2006, and the Kelowna accord, in November 2005, will go a long way to close the gaps of the first nations communities with other British Columbians.

I have personally witnessed some of the gaps in the aboriginal communities. When I came to Canada in 1971 with my parents, we lived in the east end of Vancouver, downtown. I realized the challenges faced by the aboriginal people in the urban area.

My family actually has a long association with the aboriginal people. My grandfather came to Canada in 1913 as a farmer. Before he retired in the 1960s, he leased a piece of land in the Musqueam Indian Reserve near the University of British Columbia and farmed there for at least 15 years. The income generated by his hard work supported his family outside Canada.

In the early 1990s I had the opportunity to visit Mount Currie reserve, and I was impressed with the hospitality of the first nations community there. I was shocked, however, to see the condition of their houses and the living environment. I can understand why the younger generations of the aboriginal people have mostly left their reserves to live in the urban area, where they probably faced unexpected cultural and economic challenges due to gaps in education.

Recently, statistics in the Ministry of Education regarding aboriginal student education have shown some improvement in the graduation rates, but there are still many opportunities for improvement. As an MLA, I have the honour to participate in many activities in the aboriginal communities. Over the years I participated many times at the Native Education Centre in welcoming new students and in seeing them receive their diplomas and graduation certificates.

I have attended meetings of the Urban Native Youth Association and the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society and listened to the discussions on the issues facing aboriginal youth and the needs of the aboriginal people making a transition to the urban community, especially on housing problems. I am impressed by the programs offered and the entrepreneurial spirit shown by the Aboriginal Mother Centre in Vancouver.

I visited the ten-megawatt run-of-the-river hydro power project with Chief Gibby Jacob at Furry Creek in the Squamish Nation traditional territory. I have met with many aboriginal people in meetings of the natural resource sectors such as forestry, mining, and fishery. I understand the aspirations of the first nations in economic development.

In conclusion, I would like to offer my strong support for this bill. I wish the Tsawwassen First Nation the best in its future economic education and cultural development.