WHAT DOES CERTAINTY MEAN?
The primary purpose of treaty making is to provide certainty for land ownership and jurisdiction in British Columbia. Treaties are agreements between three parties. As such, they can establish structures and mechanisms to deal with disputes and changing circumstances. This is somewhat analogous to the flexibility built into municipal financial arrangements. A treaty cannot be changed unless all three parties – Canada, BC and the First Nation – agree. To demand that treaties provide a level of certainty so that they could never be challenged would set the bar impossibly high; higher than Canadians demand of their own laws and Constitution. History has proven that court actions do not resolve these issues. In fact, the court has left more questions open than answered and has often implored the parties to resolve their disputes through good faith negotiations.
