Koocanusa Reservoir

Encouraging advancements for Columbia River Treaty negotiations

The past year has seen an encouraging shift in discussions between Canada and the U.S. about modernizing the Columbia River Treaty. 

When reflecting on activities in 2022, Katrine Conroy, Minister Responsible for the Columbia River Treaty, described “the most promising advancements since discussions about the Treaty’s future began in 2018.” Minister Conroy was referring to substantial progress made over three formal rounds of negotiation meetings and a series of technical sessions that kept Canadian and American negotiators busy throughout the year. 

Three months into 2023, they show no signs of slowing down. The negotiating teams met in Vancouver, B.C., on January 25 and 26 and, following a series of intersessional meetings, reconvened for the 16th round of negotiations on March 22 and 23 in Washington D.C.  Read more

Columbia Basin Regional Advisory Committee members standing on the shore of Kinbasket Reservoir, May 2022

Columbia Basin Regional Advisory Committee visits Kinbasket Reservoir 

Throughout its eight years together, the Columbia Basin Regional Advisory Committee (CBRAC) has held meetings all across the Basin. From Invermere near the Columbia River headwaters, to Castlegar at the confluence of the Columbia and Kootenay Rivers, and many locations in between. Each meeting is coupled with a field trip to a local site connected to the Columbia River Treaty in some way. Members have visited the Hugh Keenleyside and Duncan Dams and the Koocanusa Reservoir. They have also toured Revelstoke Dam and some of the hydropower facilities along the Kootenay River between Nelson and Castlegar, which are not part of the Treaty but are affected by its flow requirements.

The intent of moving around is to help members better understand how management of the Columbia and Kootenay Rivers affects different parts of the Basin in unique as well as similar ways, while highlighting that changing dam operations in one part of the region has an effect on the entire river system. This perspective supports the committee’s approach to providing advice on potential future improvements to the Columbia River Treaty and regional hydro operations in a way that considers the Basin as a whole.  Read more

Nakusp, B.C.

Integrating socio-economic interests within a modernized Treaty

For many communities in the Columbia Basin, construction of the Columbia River Treaty dams in the 1960s and 70s had an immeasurable impact on their way of life. While the Treaty has succeeded in enabling power generation and reducing the risk of damaging floods, operation of these dams continues to affect a wide variety of interests in the Basin, including important socio-economic values like recreation, health, and economic development.

As Canada and the United States continue negotiations to modernize the Treaty, the Canadian negotiating team, which includes Canada, B.C. and the Ktunaxa, Secwepémc and Syilx Okanagan Nations, is exploring different ways of operating the Canadian Treaty dams to support domestic objectives, including for ecosystems, Indigenous cultural values, and socio-economic interests.  Read more

Photos left to right: Martina Escutin, Ktunaxa Nation, Jade Montgomery-Waardenburg, Syilx Okanagan Nation, Sofia Terbasket-Funmaker, Syilx Okanagan Nation

Youth Spotlight: Martina Escutin, Jade Montgomery-Waardenburg & Sofia Terbasket-Funmaker

Salmon Warriors Gathering 2022: A Bringing the Salmon Home Initiative

In August 2022, 21 young people gathered at the headwaters of the mighty Columbia River to share, learn, experience, and connect with the land, waters, and one another. Over three days they learned from Elders, Knowledge Keepers, each other, and the waters around them, about the deep connection and reverence our people have with salmon. The event was organized by the Indigenous-led Bringing the Salmon Home: Columbia River Salmon Reintroduction Initiative. Although salmon have been gone from the upper Columbia Basin for over 80 years, these Salmon Warriors saw hope, resilience, and the power they each have in helping the salmon to come home.  Read more

Province of B.C. community meeting on the Columbia River Treaty in Golden, B.C., 2019

Treaty Fact: How are Basin community interests reflected in the Treaty modernization process?

Columbia Basin community interests have been guiding the Treaty modernization process since 2012. The Province has been engaging with Indigenous Nations, local governments, and residents to learn what Treaty-related issues matter to them and what improvements they want to see. People have been providing input through in-person and virtual public meetings, social media, emails, phone calls and letters. Members of the Canadian negotiating team, including Canada’s Chief Negotiator and representatives from B.C. and the Ktunaxa, Secwepémc and Syilx Okanagan Nations attend the public meetings to share updates, answer questions, and hear from residents firsthand.

In addition to connecting with the public broadly, there are two committees the Province engages with regularly – the Columbia River Treaty Local Governments Committee and the Columbia Basin Regional Advisory Committee. These groups have members from across the Basin and are providing suggestions and advice on what an improved Treaty could look like. The Local Governments Committee has submitted official recommendations for a modernized Treaty to the provincial and federal governments and Indigenous Nations.  Read more