With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/526329
24 BCBusiness JUly 2015 Liberal government is growing impatient. In late March, Premier Christy Clark vetoed the appointment of George Abbott as treaty commission chair, arguing that another way had to be found to secure economic peace with First Nations. "We have to be able to move faster and we have to find a way to include more First Nations in the process," said Clark. In the premier's mind, the solution lies in more funding agreements between First Nations and the private sector, similar to the headline-grabbing $1-billion offer from Malaysian oil-and- gas giant Petronas for Lax Kw'alaams's support of its LNG project in Prince Rupert. (The Lax Kw'alaams ultimately voted No to that proposal, which could mean costly legal headaches in the future.) First Nations involved in the treaty process are not exactly enamoured with its current form either. Member chiefs of B.C.'s First Nations Summit, including David Michael Harry, acknowledge that the treaty pro- cess has been broken for years. In part, they attribute bogged- down negotiations to the fact that federal and provincial ministers have doled out very limited mandates to govern- ment negotiators. At a March conference in Vancouver, one seasoned negotiator reminisced about the time when then-prime minister Jean Chrétien flew to northern B.C. to hammer out final details of the historic Nisga'a treaty himself. B.C.'s business community— with several major resources projects, from LNG terminals to coal mines, hanging in the balance—also wants a more expedient and effective pro- cess to deal with outstanding land claims. Greg D'Avignon, president of the B.C. Business Council, acknowledges that the treaty process established a common table for all sides W hen cherry growers harvest their crops this summer in the U.S. or Turkey or Italy or New Zealand, it will more than likely be born-in-B.C. cherries they're picking. It is estimated that at least 70 per cent of the cherry trees being planted around the world were developed by federal scientists at the Pacific Agri-food Research Centre ( PARC) in Summerland. Since the cherry- breeding program began there in the 1930s, thousands upon thou- sands of new varieties have been developed, including Sweetland, Staccatto, Centennial, Sovereign and Suite Note. "Anywhere that sweet cherries are grown com- mercially, they're growing B.C. varieties," says Cheryl Hampson, a PARC research scientist. In 2013, Canada exported $40.9 million worth of fresh cherries and B.C. accounted for almost all of it—$40.4 million. For all that success, however, B.C. is not a global player when it comes to overall production or sheer exports, selling a fraction of what countries such as Turkey and Iran produce. But Canada has developed a worldwide reputation for quality, thanks in no small part to the research car- ried out in Summerland. PARC's 320-hectare facility there has approximately 90 irrigated hec- tares where scientists research wine grapes and tree fruits and every aspect of their production. In addition to developing new cultivars, the team has carried out groundbreaking studies on pest control and disease Cherry on Top How a research centre in Summerland became ground zero for some of the most coveted fruit in China by Dene Moore A g r i c u l t u r e to come together and discuss issues: "We need those kinds of forums to continue to advance reconciliation, whether it's the treaty commission or some ves- tige of it." But he points to a best practices manual for revenue- sharing agreements, promoted by Campbell and ramped up by Clark, as the real forum where deals are done. Since 2006, the province has entered 200 revenue-sharing agreements with First Nations; that's in addition to 500 direct agreements between private companies—from BC Hydro to Imperial Metals—and native bands. According to B.C.'s minister for aboriginal relations and reconciliation, John Rustad, these sorts of short-term impact benefit agreements are part of a "stepping-stone approach" that sets the stage for a final treaty. Still, these agreements leave many questions un- answered—especially in light of the Supreme Court of Canada's 2014 Tsilhqot'in decision, which requires a higher level of consul- tation. Miles Richardson, former chief commissioner of the B.C. Treaty Commission and leader of the Haida Nation, argues that the short-term agreements are, at best, Band-Aid solutions and, at worst, assimilation: "They allow companies to pick bones of weaker First Nations, giving them beads and trinkets in order to give permission for multibil- lion-dollar projects to go ahead." For Chief David Michael Harry, who remains commit- ted to the treaty route—with the province guaranteeing that it will sit down with the Malahat until their treaty is finalized—the opportunity to sign an agree- ment nation-to-nation between Canada and his people is one he can't forgo. "We're giving up the inherited rights to land and water and inherent right to self-deter- mination," he says, "but we've gained the ability to be equal citizens in this country." • Caring is sharing The number of revenue- sharing agreements signed between B.C. First Nations and either the provincial government or private companies (by year) 2010 20 95 89 80 108 2011 2012 2013 2014