Eligible voters are voting whether to ratify the K’ómoks Treaty and Constitution on Saturday, March 8, 2025.

In July 2024, the chief negotiators from all three parties — K’ómoks First Nation (K’ómoks), the Government of Canada (Canada) and the Government of British Columbia (B.C.) — initialed the K’ómoks Treaty. This milestone in the treaty negotiations process signalled the conclusion of substantive negotiations subject to certain caveats, such as ongoing legal and technical review, and consultation with neighbouring First Nations. The legal and technical review of the treaty concluded in November 2024, resulting in the ratification version of the K’ómoks Treaty.

Ratification follows initialling of the treaty and is the approval process that treaties must go through before they can come into effect. The first step in this process is the K’ómoks ratification vote. To ratify, the treaty and constitution require a double majority vote outcome by K’ómoks eligible voters. This means more than 50% of eligible voters on the voters list cast a ballot, and more than 50% of those voters cast a ballot in favour of the treaty and constitution.

Should eligible voters vote in favour of ratifying the K’ómoks Treaty and Constitution, B.C. and Canada will undergo their own respective ratification approval processes. This includes introducing provincial, then federal treaty implementation legislation to bring the K’ómoks Treaty into law. If ratified by all three parties, the treaty is anticipated to have an effective date in 2028.

K’ómoks entered treaty negotiations in the early 1990s. Working closely with the BC Treaty Commission, an independent facilitator of the made-in-B.C. treaty negotiations framework, negotiators for K’ómoks, Canada and B.C. reached an agreement-in-principle (AIP) in 2012. The AIP established agreement on the substantive elements to be detailed in the completed treaty.

In the years since, K’ómoks, B.C. and Canada have engaged with all levels of government, industry, interest holders and people in the region about various elements of the proposed treaty. K’ómoks has worked closely with its local government partners to invest in shared services and regional economic development. B.C. and Canada are also continuing Crown consultation with neighbouring and overlapping First Nations.

Engagement has provided opportunities for people to share their needs and shape treaty provisions. As a result, the ratification version of the K’ómoks Treaty reflects work together on shared regional priorities established in the 2012 AIP.

If ratified, the proposed treaty would:

• ensure Aboriginal rights are recognized, and not extinguished, for K’ómoks, and describe the parties’ agreement on the exercise of rights;
• clarify that the treaty does not infringe or extinguish the rights of neighbouring First Nations;
• lay out negotiated approaches to self-governance and confirm land parcels to be owned and governed by K’ómoks;
• address existing interests and tenures on proposed treaty lands (interest holders have been engaged on the proposed approach to their tenure or interest); and
• formalize consultation and opportunities for co-management of resources within the First Nations’ traditional territory.

Once the ratification vote is complete, there will be further opportunities for regional and public engagement, as well as ongoing consultation with neighbouring First Nations.

Learn More:

More information, including the ratification version of the K’ómoks Treaty, is available here: https://engage.gov.bc.ca/govtogetherbc/engagement/komoks-treaty

Treaty and enrolment information for eligible voters is available here: https://komoks.ca/treaty/