Click on News Release and Backgrounder for additional information)Sechelt Agreement-in-Principle • April 19th, 2007
Whereas section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, recognizes and affirms the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada, and the courts have stated that aboriginal rights include aboriginal title;
Taxation Aspects of the Sechelt Agreement-in-PrincipleSechelt Agreement-in-Principle • August 20th, 2020
The Sechelt Agreement-in-Principle1 (“the AIP”) under the British Columbia Treaty Commission (“the BCTC”) process was signed by Canada, British Columbia, and the Sechelt Indian Band on April 16, 1999. A copy of chapter 17 of the AIP, which concerns taxation, is attached as an appendix to this paper. The AIP is, at the time of writing, the only agreement that has been finalized; thus, the Sechelt Band is the only First Nation to have reached stage 5 of the six-stage treaty process. To those not directly involved in the stage 5 negotiations, it came as a complete surprise when the Sechelt Band Council, on June 1, 2000, announced Sechelt’s withdrawal from the BCTC process in favour of a return to the courts. In a press release dated June 6, 2000, Chief Garry Feschuk explained the reasons for this withdrawal, which included the following:
