The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
Certified correct as passed Third Reading on the 2nd day of June, 2011
Ian D. Izard, Q.C., Law Clerk
This Agreement incorporates all minor changes agreed to by the Parties in the Minor Change Agreement dated as of January 31, 2011.
1. Yale First Nation asserts that they have used, occupied and governed their traditional territory from time immemorial;
2. Yale First Nation has never entered into a treaty or land claims agreement with the Crown;
3. 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;
4. The Parties are committed to the reconciliation of the prior presence of Yale First Nation and the sovereignty of the Crown through the negotiation of this Agreement which will establish a new government-to-government relationship based on mutual respect;
5. Yale First Nation asserts that they have an inherent right to self-government, and the Government of Canada has negotiated self-government in this Agreement based on its policy that the inherent right to self-government is an existing aboriginal right within section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982;
6. Yale First Nation's existing aboriginal rights are recognized and affirmed by the Constitution Act, 1982, and the Parties have negotiated this agreement under the British Columbia treaty process to provide certainty in respect of those rights and to allow them to continue and to have effect and be exercised as set out in this Agreement;
7. Canada and British Columbia acknowledge the perspective of Yale First Nation that harm and losses in relation to their aboriginal rights have occurred in the past and express regret if any actions or omissions of the Crown have contributed to that perspective, and the Parties rely on this Agreement to move them beyond the difficult circumstances of the past;
8. Canada and British Columbia acknowledge the aspirations of Yale First Nation to participate more fully in the economic, political, cultural and social life of British Columbia in a way that preserves and enhances the collective identity of Yale First Nation and to evolve and flourish as a self-sufficient and sustainable community;