Governance Building
Governance: Post-Treaty
How Hul'qumi'num government will be organized — how it will operate and how each of our six member Nations will be involved — is one of the greatest challenges faced by the Hul'qumi'num Treaty Group. We have heard clearly that there are many benefits to working together — like the paddlers in a canoe — on issues that affect all Hul'qumi'num people.

We also understand that each First Nation has its own sense of autonomy, and its own aspirations for governance. The challenge our communities face is to build a Hul'qumi'num government that provides the strength and benefits of working together, while recognizing local authorities and goals.

A key part of our treaty will be to establish the structure and constitution of the two levels of Hul'qumi'num government. Roles and responsibilities will be defined for both the collective Hul'qumi'num government and our individual Nations’ governments. These will be informed and shaped by the input and the wisdom of our people and guided by principles of traditional knowledge and community relations.

The provisions in the treaty will ensure that the Hul'qumi'num peoples' right to determine the founding principles, form, and structure of gover-nance, both as individual communities and as a collective Nation, will be recognized and assured for current and future generations.

The Way to Prosperity
Hul'qumi'num community members have expressed concerns about losing services and benefits once we become self governing. A major area of concern is the potential impact on our families that would result from the government’s demands that we give up tax exempt status. Another issue is the fear of losing essential services, such as health care and unemployment insurance, currently provided by the federal and provincial governments. These are fears we take seriously and are taking the time to fully address.

The bottom line is that we are negotiating a treaty that will allow us to generate the wealth our communities need to thrive and prosper. The financial component of our settlement will play an integral role in securing stable funding for the same kinds of services for our people that are available to other Aboriginal Canadians. Our governance authorities that are secured in treaty will allow us to establish our own policies and directions. Our new financial position will allow us to choose which of these services to deliver and to enhance.

Once a treaty is in place, the collective Hul'qumi'num government and the individual Nations’ governments will assume responsibility for a number of activities now governed by federal, provincial and municipal authorities. Some areas where we will have law making authority are:

• Resource management and land use planning
• Environmental protection
• Health services
• Education
• Child and family services
• Income assistance
• Taxation
• Marriage and divorce
• Public works

As self governing people, we will ultimately be better positioned to create a future for our families based on the historical abundance we enjoyed prior to Xwulunitum settlement. A fair and just treaty settlement of land, resources, and cash, combined with the ability to protect our ancestors and our cultural identity, will allow us to move forward toward a more prosperous future.