BC Premier Clark is Cash Strapped, renting certainty for short term gain

Premier Clark proclaims treaty making is not working therefore pragmatic solutions for economic development will be the focus for her government. However, Clark's pragmatic solutions appear to be more about her government fiscal problems than good policy. In fact, the tripartite review, here, of the treaty process published in 2002 states,

the central recommendation in the BCTC Review was that First Nations, Canada and British Columbia shift their emphasis in treaty making to building treaties incrementally over time so that when a final treaty is signed, the new relationships necessary for success will largely be in place.

Incremental steps were always part of the solution - independent studies consistently conclude that treaty making is vital for long term economic prosperity. The impetus for short term economic development is self-serving for the Premier and her cash strapped government.

Treaty making is more than a tool for economic development. See the Top 5 reasons why First Nation want treaties here. Treaty making is about solving First Nations governance problems as much as it is about economic development. Both are means, the goal was to close the socioeconomic gaps between First Nation and non-First Nations in BC in a culturally appropriate manner.

For some clearly treaty is not the right path, for others, it is, like all aboriginal policy in Canada, there are few solutions that work across the board. Treaties, Strategic Engagement Agreements, and Incremental Treaty Agreements are all tools. Let's hope the federal and provincial government's have not lost focus on the goal.