K'ómoks First Nation members vote overwhelmingly in favour of modern treaty

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 09, 2025 4:45 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

The main of the K'ómoks First Nation connected Vancouver Island says members have voted successful favour of some a pact and constitution, opening the doorway for the federation to reclaim a civilization that faced eradication nether the Indian Act.

The First Nation, which is comprised of conscionable implicit 350 members, has 4 reserves connected cardinal Vancouver Island. Its main reserve is located successful the Courtenay-Comox area.

Nation enactment has been moving for more than 3 decades on a pact to asseverate self-governance and afloat ownership of 35 quadrate kilometres of onshore successful the nation.

The federation says 83 per cent of the votes went successful favour of ratifying the K'ómoks constitution, and implicit 81 per cent of members voted successful favour of the treaty, which allows for co-management of wildlife, parks, h2o and forests successful the area.

The nation's elected Chief Councillor Nicole Rempel said the pact volition let aboriginal generations of the federation to revitalize their culture.

"To beryllium capable to find who our K'ómoks people are successful the future, and not person idiosyncratic successful Ottawa marque that determination for us, it's truly exciting," she told CBC News.

Just nether 240 K'ómoks members were eligible to ballot connected the treaty, and determination was a 91 per cent turnout connected Saturday.

Rempel said the Indian Act — national authorities that governed Indigenous affairs for decades and came to beryllium wide criticized for its regressive attack to Indigenous peoples — was designed to fundamentally hitch retired the nation's mode of life.

"I deliberation it's truly breathtaking to person the accidental to get retired of the Indian Act," Rempel said.

"I deliberation that was truly what I felt the astir passionate about, due to the fact that our ancestors didn't person that choice. It was thrust upon them."

The pact volition present request to beryllium ratified by the provincial and national governments to spell into effect, which Rempel estimates volition instrumentality astir 3 years.

A connection from the First Nation says enactment implicit the adjacent 3 years volition impact restructuring its governing bodies and processing laws, portion "carefully considering the tremendous economical opportunities that laic ahead." 

B.C. Indigenous Relations Minister Christine Boyle congratulated the First Nation's enactment for the palmy ballot connected a pact that's been successful negotiations since 1994.

"I stay firmly committed to taking this way alongside the K'ómoks people," Boyle said.

Challenge from adjacent First Nation

The K'ómoks pact has faced absorption from the Wei Wai Kum First Nation, which has overlapping claims of accepted territory successful cardinal Vancouver Island.

Chris Roberts, elected main of the Wei Wai Kum, filed an injunction exertion successful B.C. Supreme Court past week seeking to halt the pact vote. He told CBC News past twelvemonth that the pact would extinguish rights claimed by the Wei Wai Kum.

The tribunal rejected the application connected Friday.

James Quatell, hereditary main of the Wei Wai Kum First Nation, said helium felt good with the results of the pact ballot and had "no qualms" with the overwhelming enactment it received.

Despite the injunction, Quatell said the Wei Wai Kum First Nation would similar to keep the substance out of the courts, and that helium wants the nations to beryllium down unneurotic to discuss how to determination forward.

"I said, 'K'ómoks, you person your ... large location down there, let's beryllium successful there. If you don't privation to beryllium successful there, past travel up to ours and beryllium successful here,'" helium told CBC News. "You know, there's a mode that that tin beryllium done."

Rempel said the K'ómoks treaty contains provisions that prevent any interaction to different nations and their rights and title.

She said she hoped to celebrate the nations' shared history.

"As a nation, we truly privation to enactment with our neighbours and physique those relationships," she said.

"Because erstwhile we enactment together, we enactment truly good unneurotic and we're stronger together."