"We think that we have accepted you as a people, you have taken up the land and used it for your good, its fine, now give us a chance to use some of that land for our own good."
- Elder, Lawrence Hope
"We negotiated this treaty with the young people in mind."
- Chief Robert Hope
Lands
The lands manager is also involved in the Yale First Nation treaty negotiation with BC and Canada through the Land Technical Working Group (LTWG). This group consists of members from YFN, BC, and Canada, who work together to resolve technical mapping, land statusing, and other issues as directed by the Main Table negotiators. Throughout the land selection process, as new land was added or land was removed from the package, the LTWG resolved the technical issues.
The Lands department has been working with the federal government to complete Environmental Site Assessments of our reserve lands. The reason for the assessment of environmental liabilities on our lands is because when we sign a Treaty, Canada will be giving us control over our lands; at which time, the lands need to be clear of any environmental problems. A number of areas of potential contamination have been identified, mitigated, and cleaned up to date, and there are still some that are being worked on. The goal is to have our lands free of any contamination by the effective date of our treaty. The YFN will continue to report on the progress of our clean up and an Environmental Management Framework will be created to educate our membership on how to avoid contaminating our lands in the future. The plan will address items such as how to safely store your fuel, where to bring old appliances, solid waste/hazardous waste disposal, etc.
Final Agreement
BC Government Website
Ratification
YFN Members: We thank you for voting on this important matter. Our Treaty team will be sending out the results to all members in the very near future.