Shared Priorities Framework with Modern Treaty Nations

The Shared Priorities Framework was developed in 2022 out of multi-year collaborative discussions between the Province and the Alliance of BC Modern Treaty Nations (Alliance) to identify new pathways to renewing treaty relationships and advancing treaty implementation.

The Province works in consultation and co-operation with Modern Treaty Nations and the Alliance to advance the shared vision set out in the Shared Priorities Framework to ensure that:

• Modern treaties are recognized, observed, and enforced;
• Modern Treaty Nations and the Province are resourced for a whole of government approach to timely and effective treaty implementation; 
• The Province’s relationships with Modern Treaty Nations are distinct and reflect their established rights; and 
• The Province’s relationships with Modern Treaty Nations are dynamic and evolve and improve over time.

The Declaration Act Action Plan states that progress to achieve the outcomes of the Shared Priorities Framework will be included in Declaration Act annual reports.

How are we working together?

The Alliance of BC Modern Treaty Nations and the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation work together through the Shared Priorities Framework Working Group to coordinate the implementation of the Shared Priorities Framework, track overall progress and identify new implementation priorities. 

The work to implement the Shared Priorities Framework is a whole-of-government task and occurs across ministries through projects, programs and other activities.

Work on the Shared Priorities Framework is being done in consultation and cooperation with Modern Treaty Nations through the Alliance of BC Modern Treaty Nations. 

The approach being taken is to concurrently develop and strengthen the Province’s relationships with Modern Treaty Nations while achieving the intended outcomes of the Shared Priorities Framework.

The degree of consultation, cooperation, accommodation and collaboration varies across and within the projects, programs and other activities aimed at implementing the Shared Priorities Framework. The approach is as cooperative, collaborative and accommodating as the project, program or other activity allows.

Are there challenges?

The primary risks to implementing the Shared Priorities Framework are the availability of dedicated provincial staff, vulnerability to staffing vacancies and competing provincial priorities. These limitations are the major bottleneck for implementation but are not currently halting the work. A secondary risk is treaty partners perceiving these limitations as deprioritizing and disrespecting treaty relationships. Another risk is the possibility of a lack of uptake of codeveloped implementation strategies and resources across government.

These risks may be controlled, in part, through the development of resources and education opportunities for provincial employees, which will enhance the capability of the Province for taking a whole-of-government approach to implementation.

 Inconsistent awareness across government of the Shared Priorities Framework and treaty obligations represents a primary obstacle to the success of implementation. This inconsistent awareness hinders the application of a whole-of-government approach to treaty implementation and delays the early and meaningful inclusion of Modern Treaty Nations in consultation and cooperation processes. Recently completed guidance and educational materials for provincial employees will contribute to resolving this obstacle.

An additional obstacle to implementation is budgetary constraints preventing the Province from completing projects to meet commitments and B.C. government staff capacity being limited by the need to support emergent projects and competing priorities.

Highlights

Implementing the Shared Priorities Framework demonstrates the Province’s ongoing commitment to modern treaty relationships and treaty implementation. This reinforces modern treaties as providing a blueprint for reconciliation and a foundation for government-to-government relationships based on mutual respect and established rights.

Some highlights from 2024/25 include:

• The fourth annual Premier’s Forum was held in June 2024, hosted on Tla’amin Nation Territory. The Premier’s Forum is a gathering of the Premier, Cabinet and the leaders of Modern Treaty Nations. It serves as a reaffirmation of the relationship the Crown holds with Modern Treaty Nations.
• The Province and the Alliance of BC Modern Treaty Nations completed the codevelopment of guidance for provincial government employees on engaging with Modern Treaty Nations. This work aims at ensuring government employees understand and enforce treaty rights and obligations and uphold the government-to-government relationships between the Province and Modern Treaty Nations.
• The Shared Priorities Framework includes a priority to establish fiscal arrangements to fulfil treaty rights and obligations. In 2024, the Province and Modern Treaty Nations negotiated amendments to fiscal financing agreements based on a co-developed new model for funding core lands and resource management. The new core funding will support Modern Treaty Nations in exercising their responsibilities as governments and in partnering with the Province on lands and resource management. The amendments also commit the Province and Modern Treaty Nations to collaboratively develop criteria and an evaluation framework for an incremental funding component in cases where Modern Treaty Nations can demonstrate expenditure need beyond the core funding.
• In April 2024, the new, collaboratively developed legislative framework for property taxation on Nisga’a Lands and Treaty Lands was implemented as part of the Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2024. Effective as of the 2025 taxation year, Modern Treaty Nations are broadly enabled to self-determine property taxation on their Treaty Lands, including whether and how to exercise their own assessment and property taxation laws and policies. During June and July 2024, the Province and Modern Treaty Nations each entered into new Real Property Tax Agreements under the new legislative framework.
• The Province and Modern Treaty Nations continue to collaboratively explore options to renew the Province’s mechanism for transferring funding under treaty side agreements to better reflect the jurisdiction and autonomy of modern treaty governments. They have made progress towards developing an overarching Modern Treaty Collaborative Fiscal Policy, which aims to lay out principles, methodologies and provisions to guide modern treaty fiscal relationships.

Modern Treaty Nations and the Declaration Act

The Shared Priorities Framework includes a priority outcome that the Declaration Act be implemented in a manner consistent with distinct modern treaty rights. 

Modern Treaty Nations are self-governing First Nations with established and constitutionally protected rights set out in the treaties. 

It is important that in implementing the Declaration Act, Modern Treaty Nations are included early and often, as supported by Article 37 of the UN Declaration which states that:

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to the recognition, observance and enforcement of treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements concluded with States or their successors and to have States honour and respect such treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements.
2. Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as diminishing or eliminating the rights of indigenous peoples contained in treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements.