Lheidli T'enneh chief Dominic Frederick has announced the local First Nation has reached a tentative agreement after lengthy treaty negotiations with the federal and provincial governments.
The treaty negotiations, which have been ongoing since at least 1993, will now go to a ratification vote of members of the Lheidli T'enneh. Voting will be held between June 16 and 23. A tentative deal was reached in 2007 but was voted down by members of the nation.
All status members of the Lheidli T'enneh who are over the age of 16 will be eligible to vote on the current agreement, as will registered individuals with family or ancestral ties to the nation.
In an April 2018 newsletter issued by the Lheidli T'enneh nation, Frederick said the new agreement has undergone "small tweaks" from the 2007 agreement, but that these changes were nevertheless "important and significant."
"Last week, the federal and provincial governments brought forth an offer of an additional $20.8 million dollars to be added on to the existing Capital Transfer of $16.3 million dollars. This brings the Capital Transfer to over $37 million dollars, which means that the estimated total value of the Final Agreement is about $116.2 million dollars," Frederick wrote in the April 2018 newsletter.
The newsletter stated the total value of the current agreement was $50 million more than the 2007 agreement.
"For me, this is a very promising sign that the governments are taking reconciliation with Lheidli T'enneh seriously and are setting us up for our own successful self-government," Frederick wrote.
Under the proposed agreement, the Lheidli T'enneh would come to own a total of 4,300 hectares of land, including parcels in and around the city of Prince George, near the airport and near UNBC, according to a spokesperson from the nation.
The deal would also involve a capital transfer of $37 million from the federal and provincial governments.
The full capital transfer would be paid to the nation and deposited into a trust.
The Lheidli T'enneh will be holding a signing ceremony today with representatives from the provincial and federal governments, at the Prince George Civic Centre from 9:30 a.m. to noon. A community meeting for members of the nation will also be held on the same day, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at the same location. Another meeting will be held the following day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Community meetings related to the agreement are also planned in Prince Rupert, Vancouver, Kamloops and Edmonton over May and June. A larger community gathering, hosted by members of the nation's treaty team, will take place June 16 and 17 at the new Lheidli T'enneh Community Hall, Uda dune Baiyoh.
Voting will take place through a mail-in ballot, which will be sent to all registered voters as of mid-May. Online voting will also be offered. Members of the nation are asked to enrol in order to be eligible to vote; those who have not received an enrolment package in the mail are asked to contact 778-693-2980 or [email protected].
