Katrine Conroy, British Columbia’s Minister Responsible for the Columbia River Treaty, has issued the following statement after this week’s treaty negotiation meetings in Victoria:

“I was glad to be able to personally welcome the Canadian and American negotiating teams to Victoria for two more days of discussions about the future of the Columbia River Treaty.

“Negotiators had an honest exchange of views and perspectives, as they worked to find common ground on flood-risk management and hydro power co-ordination. Canada also raised the topics of other treaty benefits and adaptive management.

“Coming out of the latest round of talks, the negotiating teams have decided to conduct technical work between negotiating rounds, in order to support the progress of the discussions.

“As always, Indigenous perspectives are of great importance as we meet with U.S. negotiators to look at the treaty’s future. Canada and B.C. continue to work closely with representatives of the Indigenous Nations in B.C.’s Columbia Basin to develop and refine Canada’s negotiating positions and objectives.”

Next negotiations:

The next round of Columbia River Treaty negotiation meetings will take place in Washington, D.C., on June 19 and 20, 2019.

To share views on the treaty, email: columbiarivertreaty@gov.bc.ca or write to the Columbia River Treaty Team, Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, PO Box 9314 Stn Prov Govt, Victoria, B.C. V8W 9N1.