In October and November 2019, the Province of B.C. hosted a series of meetings in 12 communities across the B.C. Columbia Basin.  A full report will be published this June, summarizing these gatherings and capturing the presentations, feedback and discussions that took place in Revelstoke, Valemount, Cranbrook, Jaffray, Creston, Golden, Invermere, Genelle, Nelson, Meadow Creek, Nakusp and Fauquier.

The meetings served to update communities about the current Canada-U.S. Columbia River Treaty negotiations and offered a chance for Basin residents to connect face-to-face with members of the Canadian negotiating team, including the Indigenous Nations observers who became part of the negotiating contingent in 2019.  Representatives from the Ktunaxa, Secwepemc and Syilx/Okanagan Nations led discussions about work currently underway to address Basin ecosystem health and explore reintroducing salmon to the upper Columbia River.  The B.C. government’s Columbia River Treaty Team concluded the meetings by detailing various community projects in development to address some of the issues raised by Basin residents over the years.  One of the main initiatives described was the Columbia River Treaty Heritage Project, a proposed tourism route that would highlight regional stories related to the Treaty in an effort to acknowledge how the Treaty has affected the Basin.

These sessions collectively drew more than 300 people.  Audiences were a mix of Treaty “veterans,” bringing a combination of lived experience and researched knowledge, and those new to the Treaty, eager to learn more about the agreement that governs Columbia and Kootenay River water flows.

Although the meetings featured a consistent menu of presentations, the conversations were diverse and wide-ranging.  For that reason, the report not only summarizes the presentations, but also seeks to capture the comments made and the discussions that took place in each location.

The importance of connecting with residents and communities remains a cornerstone of the B.C. government’s work on the Columbia River Treaty.

The province welcomes feedback on the report and encourages those with comments to send them by email to columbiarivertreaty@gov.bc.ca.  The report will be available at https://engage.gov.bc.ca/columbiarivertreaty/2019-community-meetings/.  All presentations and materials from these meetings are currently available on the same page.