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	Speaking Truth to Power: A Treaty Forum
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SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER: TALK ABOUT TREATIES

Introduction

Treaty making is embedded in Canadian history. Early settlers readily acknowledged the necessity for their Sovereign to negotiate some kind of covenant with the Aboriginal peoples for the occupation of their land. This recognition led governments to adopt a policy in favour of treaty negotiation. As a result, numerous treaties meant to govern the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples now sharing various territories were signed. The treaty process did not, however, make it over the Rockies, with the consequence that the constitutional status of land tenure in much of the territory of B.C. remained uncertain.

Compelled by political imperatives, economic pressures and court decisions, the federal and provincial governments as well as the B.C. First Nations Summit agreed to remedy this situation of uncertainty by establishing, in 1993, the British Columbia Treaty Process. Negotiations have been underway since, with limited success.

In an effort to explore new paths towards the successful conclusion of treaties between First Nations and other levels of government, the Law Commission of Canada and the B.C. Treaty Commission co-hosted a forum in Vancouver, on March 2-3, 2000.

Negotiators, decision-makers and opinion leaders came together on that occasion to exchange information and ideas about treaty making in an atmosphere of openness and exploration. To facilitate the process, leading scholars in law, philosophy, political science and public administration were invited to prepare short papers under the following headings:

In each session, after the experts presented the key themes of their papers, commentaries were invited from designated individuals, in the interest of sparking discussions and broadening horizons. On every topic, 40 minutes were allotted for open-ended comments from the participants. Moderated by Stephen Owen Q.C. of the Law Commission, these discussions were not intended to be conclusive in any way but rather, to permit a frank airing of concerns and lead to a more informed and enlightened discourse on the subject of treaties.

Since treaty negotiations and their outcome affect many communities and individuals, the Law Commission and the B.C. Treaty Commission decided that the papers presented during the forum should be made available to the public along with a brief summary of the deliberations.

This collection is the result of a collaborative effort by the two commissions. The papers published here are the work of their respective authors writing as scholarly commentators. They do not, therefore, necessarily represent the views of either commission. We are most grateful to the experts invited to the session for revising their papers for publication in this format.

We hope that this collection will contribute to an improved public understanding of the significance of treaties for peoples and citizens, as well as a better appreciation of the differing perspectives and expectations of the parties involved in the treaty process. Finally, we trust that it will help to clarify the central elements of good faith negotiations between governments and First Nations and by doing so will engage all parties in a genuine commitment to reaching mutually satisfactory agreements.

	Speaking Truth to Power: A Treaty Forum
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