Add StudioX as a preferred source on GoogleFormer B.C. premier Gordon Campbell says the eight principles British Columbians endorsed in a 2002 referendum on treaty negotiations remain sound, even though they no longer bind the government of the day, Daily Hive Vancouver reports.
Campbell’s BC Liberal government held the vote. He told Daily Hive Urbanized, in an interview before the provincial election, that the outgoing BC NDP government under Premier David Eby had moved the province far from the referendum’s central principles. Those include public involvement, transparency, equal treatment, private property protection and continued access to Crown land.
“I think the referendum set us on the right path,” Campbell said, adding that he believes the NDP took the province off it.
New government promises a different approach
According to the report, Lorne Doerkson’s Conservative Party of British Columbia defeated the BC NDP with a majority government. Premier-elect Doerkson has promised to repeal the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) and Section 8.1 of the Interpretation Act.
The Conservatives have also pledged new laws that would:
- protect fee-simple ownership;
- require disclosure of negotiations and agreements affecting public or private land before they become binding;
- preserve public access to Crown land and provincial parks.
The party says it will still honour constitutionally protected Indigenous rights and the Crown’s legal duties to consult and accommodate. It says it will pursue economic partnerships and “clear and fair” treaty agreements.
What the 2002 referendum showed
The referendum was conducted entirely by mail between April 2 and May 15, 2002. Voters were asked whether the government should adopt eight principles for its role in treaty talks. They covered private property, commercial leases and licences, public access to Crown land, parks and protected areas, province-wide environmental and resource-management standards, Indigenous self-government, coordination with municipal land-use planning, and the gradual removal of existing Indigenous tax exemptions.
Elections BC issued nearly 2.15 million voting packages and received 790,182 returned ballots. After packages that did not meet the requirements were excluded, 763,480 ballots were counted, a turnout of about 36 per cent of registered voters. Every principle received at least 84.52 per cent support among valid votes.
The strongest result was for the question on keeping provincial parks and protected areas for the benefit of all British Columbians. It received 669,230 “Yes” votes, or 94.5 per cent.
The vote was controversial. Two court applications sought to stop the ballots from being mailed or counted, and a related challenge alleged the referendum regulation was invalid. All were dismissed.
No binding effect on later governments
Under the Referendum Act, and generally under provincial law, a referendum binds only the government that initiated it. Later governments are legally free to adopt different policies. Geoffrey Moyse, a lawyer specializing in Indigenous and constitutional law, told Daily Hive Urbanized that the actions of later governments are neither unlawful nor unconstitutional, and that the matter is political.
The principles did shape Campbell’s own government’s work, including the Tsawwassen First Nation treaty. Negotiations began in 1993, but the referendum set the mandate Campbell’s government brought to the table. An agreement-in-principle was signed in 2004 and described by the government as consistent with the referendum principles.
The Tsawwassen Final Agreement was the first modern treaty completed through the B.C. treaty process. Members ratified it in July 2007, the legislature approved it in November 2007, and Ottawa ratified it in June 2008. It took effect in April 2009. It provided self-government and about 1,789 acres (724 hectares) of land in southeast Delta. The First Nation later used part of that land for Tsawwassen Mills under a long-term lease with a private developer and mall operator.
Provincial parks in current talks
Moyse pointed to the Te’mexw Treaty Association talks on Vancouver Island, where provincial parks are on the table. The association represents the Malahat, Beecher Bay, Songhees, Snaw-naw-as and T’Sou-ke First Nations, which have negotiated with Ottawa and the province since 1995. An agreement-in-principle was signed in 2015, and the parties are working toward five separate final treaties.
Proposed treaty lands include Discovery Island Marine Provincial Park for the Songhees First Nation and Sooke Mountain Provincial Park for the T’Sou-ke First Nation. The outgoing NDP government’s position was that public access and recreation would continue and conservation values would be maintained. It held open houses in four Vancouver Island communities in June 2026 and said more engagement would come before the treaties are concluded. Each treaty needs approval from the affected First Nation and the provincial and federal governments.
Moyse argued that offering provincial parks as treaty lands conflicts with the political direction voters gave in 2002. He said any access guarantee would depend on the final treaty wording, which has not been released, and that implementation legislation could amend or override parts of the Park Act. He also said his concern extends to Hatley Park National Historic Site in Colwood, home to Royal Roads University and Hatley Castle.
Source: Daily Hive Vancouver (lead)
Harnaik Singh Rathor is the Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of StudioX News Canada, Canada's multilingual digital news network serving multilingual diaspora communities across Canada. With a background in media production, public relations, and multicultural communications, he founded StudioX Film and TV Corporation to bridge the gap between mainstream Canadian media and the country's diverse immigrant communities. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), RTDNA Canada, CPRS Vancouver, NEPMCC, and the Canadian Freelance Union (Unifor). Based in Surrey, British Columbia. | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harnaiksinghrathor/ | Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/harnaiksinghrathor | Email: editor@studioxnews.ca
