British Columbia aboriginal treaty referendum, 2002
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The BC Treaty Referendum was a province-wide referendum on First Nations treaty rights in British Columbia, Canada.
In the spring of 2002, the Premier Gordon Campbell and the British Columbia Liberal Party government sent out ballots to registered voters in the province.[1] The referendum proposed eight principles, that voters were asked to either support or oppose, but critics claimed the phrasing was flawed. One principle, "Parks and protected areas should be maintained for the use and benefit of all British Columbians," was written in such a positive way that a 'yes' response was virtually guaranteed. Another, "Private property should not be expropriated for treaty settlements," because it was phrased in the negative, may have confused voters about which answer meant support. Furthermore, the treaty asked if "Status Indians" should continue to be exempt from taxes, even though their tax-exempt status is guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, beyond the reach of provincial politicians. Although the Liberal government called the referendum "an experiment in direct democracy," Angus Reid (co-founder of Ipsos-Reid) called it "one of the most amateurish, one-sided attempts to gauge the public will that I have seen in my professional career."[1] The referendum was estimated to cost about $9 million.
Critics called for a boycott of the election, and First Nations groups actively collected as many ballots as possible so they might be destroyed publicly. The boycott was backed by the Anglican Anglican Church, the United Church, the Presbytery of New Westminster, the Canadian Jewish Congress, the Canadian Muslim Federation, the BC Federation of Labour, the Council of Senior Citizens and the David Suzuki Foundation. Only about one third of the ballots were submitted by the May 15 deadline.[1]
Those that were returned showed enthusiastic support, with over 80 per cent of participating voters agreeing to all eight proposed principles.
[edit] Referendum questions
1. Private property should not be expropriated for treaty settlements. (Yes/No)
2. The terms and conditions of leases and licences should be respected; fair compensation for unavoidable disruption of commercial interests should be ensured. (Yes/No)
3. Hunting, fishing and recreational opportunities on Crown land should be ensured for all British Columbians. (Yes/No)
4. Parks and protected areas should be maintained for the use and benefit of all British Columbians. (Yes/No)
5. Province-wide standards of resource management and environmental protection should continue to apply. (Yes/No)
6. Aboriginal self-government should have the characteristics of local government, with powers delegated from Canada and British Columbia. (Yes/No)
7. Treaties should include mechanisms for harmonizing land use planning between Aboriginal governments and neighbouring local governments. (Yes/No)
8. The existing tax exemptions for Aboriginal people should be phased out. (Yes/No)
- A Yes vote means the government will be bound to adopt the principle in treaty negotiations.
- A No vote means the government will not be bound to adopt the principle to guide its participation in treaty negotiations.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "B.C. treaty referendum" - CBC, July 2, 2002
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