- GR-4050
- Series
- 1975 - 2006
The series consists of records, predominantly from the 1990s and 2000s, created by the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) Treaty Negotiations. The records in this series reflect the ADM’s role in providing executive leadership to the Treaty Negotiations' Office prior to and during the 2000s; from 2001-2005, the Treaty Negotiations Office resided with the Ministry of Attorney General and was renamed the Ministry of Attorney General Treaty Negotiations Office. In 2005 the Treaty Negotiations office became part of the Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation (2005-2017). Records in this series document the government’s evolving relationship with Indigenous groups. Some of these records capture the province’s negotiations with Indigenous groups to achieve reconciliation and legal certainty over the ownership and use of Crown land and resources in the province. The records also focus on some of the Treaty Negotiations Office core business areas such as intergovernmental agreements and negotiation preparation, individual First Nations negotiations, and final agreement implementation. Some of the indigenous groups referenced in this series include the Nisga’a, Shíshálh, the Métis, Dene, Snuneymuxw, and the Squamish.
Many of the records document the different types of agreements between Indigenous groups and the provincial government; for example, interim measures, agreements in principle, resource management agreements/ plans, treaty related measures, land and cash offers, and self-government agreements. Some records document the activities of the regional negotiating teams. The records also include information on the Nisga’a final agreement; the first agreement in BC to provide constitutional certainty of an Indigenous peoples’ right to self-government. Ratified in 1999, this agreement came into effect in 2000. The series also includes records reflecting the BC Treaty Commission (BCTC) six stage approach to negotiating treaties with Indigenous groups: Stage 1 – Statement of Intent; Stage 2 – Preparation for Negotiations; Stage 3 – Negotiation of a Framework Agreement; Stage 4 – Negotiation of an Agreement in Principle (AIP); Stage 5 – Negotiation to Finalize a Treaty; and Stage 6 – Implementation of a Treaty. The province’s controversial BC treaty referendum in 2002 is also captured in this series. Some administrative records are interspersed among files in this series.
The records are arranged by topic. They include correspondence, presentations, copies of briefing notes, transition binders, manuals, reports, estimates and other financial records, drafts, meeting materials, agreements, business continuity plans, and other records. These records are classified under the Executive Records schedule (102906). They also include some ORCS (Operational Classification System) codes from the approved/draft Aboriginal Affairs ORCS (schedule 880711), 1992, and ARCS (Administrative Records Classification System) codes.
British Columbia. Ministry of Attorney General