Frequently Asked Questions
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About the Treaty
Q: Why is the Kitselas Treaty being discussed now?
A: The Kitselas Treaty has been negotiated between the Kitselas First Nation, BC, and Canadian governments over more than three decades, since 1993. On June 24, 2024, the full draft of the Kitselas Treaty and its Appendices were initialed by the Chief Negotiators from Kitselas, BC, and Canada, marking the end of formal treaty negotiations.
On April 10, 2025, Kitselas members voted on the Treaty and Constitution. More than 96% of eligible voters took part, with 87% voting in favour of the Treaty and 81% in favour of the self-government Constitution. That participation rate is higher than most municipal elections in British Columbia.
The Treaty was before the BC Legislature as Bill 21: The Kitselas Treaty Act. With the call of a BC election in fall 2026, the Treaty will have to be re-introduced to the House post-election. Once the Act passes and Canada completes its own parallel ratification process, the Treaty comes into effect.
Q: Why is the Kitselas Treaty necessary?
A: The Kitselas People were self-governing long before European contact. In 1876, the Indian Act was passed with the intention of controlling almost every aspect of Indigenous life, and it continues to dictate how Indigenous Peoples who live on-reserve today are governed. The Kitselas Treaty replaces the Indian Act with self-governance, allowing Kitselas People to establish their own government and determine their own future.
Land Ownership and Rights
Q: Why does the Province’s land figure look different from Kitselas’s figure?
A: The figure that appeared in the Public Accounts describes only the BC Crown land that will transfer when the Treaty takes effect. The number Kitselas uses includes all land Kitselas will own once the Treaty is in force, including existing Kitselas Indian Reserves and land Kitselas already owns outright, such as the Kitselas Industrial Park. The two figures count different things, with neither including any private property owned by anyone other than Kitselas First Nation.
Q: I’ve read that BC is giving away land the size of Portugal. Is this true?
Treaties define land and resource rights openly, in a draft law the Legislature debates and votes on, rather than leaving it to a court.
The Kitselas Treaty itself proposes the transfer of about 382 square kilometres of what is currently provincial Crown land, roughly one-quarter the size of Kootenay National Park and about four one-hundredths of one percent of British Columbia. No private property is included in the Treaty, except land already owned by Kitselas First Nation.
Q: Will the public still be able to access these lands to hunt, fish, or hike?
A: Yes. Kitselas will allow reasonable public access to Kitselas Public Lands for temporary, non-commercial recreational use such as hunting, fishing, hiking, and skiing, exactly the same as today. Kitselas can regulate that access to protect public safety and sensitive areas, the same as any landowner or government already does.
Public rights of water access are not affected by the Treaty, as no ownership of streams, rivers or lakes are part of Treaty. Where the Treaty gives Kitselas a specific right, such as its own fishing right, Kitselas Government may require a Kitselas permit or licence to exercise that particular right.
Q: Does this affect farms or agricultural land?
A: No farms or other agricultural assets will be transferred by this Treaty.
Lands designated BC Agriculture Land Reserve (ALR) are converted on Effective Date and will be covered by an identical Kitselas Agricultural Land Reserve Law.
A map of ALR lands can be found in the Treaty Appendices.
Q: What if I own land inside the Treaty area?
A: You keep it. Nothing about your title changes. If you ever decide to sell, Kitselas may be interested in making an offer. You are never required to sell, and you are not required to sell to Kitselas.
Q: Does the Treaty affect private property?
A: No. The Treaty does not transfer, take, or affect land that is already privately owned by someone else.
Section 7 of the Kitselas Treaty Act is explicit that Kitselas owns Kitselas Lands in fee simple, other than privately owned land held by a registered owner other than Kitselas First Nation. Private property inside or next to the treaty lands stays with its owner. Homes, farms, and businesses on private land stay exactly as they are, under the same protections as before. Any land interest or rights (e.g. a Statutory Right of Way), continue exactly as they are currently.
Q: Where is the Treaty land?
A: Treaty lands are located east and south of Terrace, BC. The Treaty lands are mapped in detail in the Treaty Appendices and the Kitselas Atlas. The full Treaty, a plain-language version, the Appendices, and the Atlas are all freely available for anyone to read.
Q: What land does the Treaty actually cover?
A:The Treaty confirms Kitselas’s ownership, in fee simple, of roughly 382 square kilometres of land, made up mostly of Kitselas’s existing reserve lands and former provincial Crown land, plus certain land that Kitselas already owns outside of Indian Reserves.
For scale, that’s roughly one-quarter the size of Kootenay National Park, or about four one-hundredths of one per cent of British Columbia. A few parcels within that total are owned by Kitselas without treaty governance authority attached. This is land that Kitselas historically controlled, and includes no land currently owned by private landowners.
Neighbours
Q: What about the interests of neighbouring First Nations?
A: Kitselas’s Traditional Territory, like most of the province, overlaps in places with the territories of neighbouring First Nations, and some of those neighbours have publicly raised concerns about the Treaty’s impact on their own claimed territory.
Kitselas takes those concerns seriously and has been engaged for years in respectful, nation-to-nation discussions with local First Nations, including formal protocol agreements with some of them, to address shared interests.
The Treaty applies only to Kitselas’s own settlement lands. It does not extinguish, diminish, or make any legal finding about the rights of any other First Nation. Where Kitselas’s public statements have been mischaracterized in the recent public debate, Kitselas has corrected the record directly, and that work continues.
Q: Does this change anything for people living in Terrace?
A: No. Private property in Terrace or anywhere else is not impacted as a result of this Treaty. Similarly, non-commerical access for hunting, fishing, hiking, and skiing, will remain exactly the same as today.
Terrace Mayor Sean Bujtas has said publicly that “the treaty is good for Kitselas and good for the City of Terrace.” At the 2026 UBCM conference, Mayor Bujtas was clear that the Treaty “has been an opportunity to build strong relationships, create greater long-term certainty, and work toward a shared future,” pointing to the City’s joint-venture partnership with Kitselas First Nation on a 1,200-acre industrial park as an example of joint economic opportunity.”
The Terrace and Chamber of Commerce have separately and publicly supported the Treaty, describing it as “an important step forward for reconciliation, economic certainty, and long-term prosperity” for the region.
Other Questions
Q: Is it true that the Treaty can be renegotiated in future?
A: No. The Treaty is complete. However, the parties may request discussion of specific aspects of the Treaty every 10 years. These discussions must be undertaken in good faith and with good reason. Any change must be agreed by all three parties (Kitselas, BC, and Canada).
This ability to request change allows for adaptation and supports a healthy future of co-existence. There are similar provisions found in almost any nation-to-nation agreement. The Indian Act is a good example of the negative long-term impact of locking agreements in stone.
Q: Do modern treaties depend on DRIPA?
A: No. British Columbia has negotiated and implemented modern treaties long before DRIPA existed, and this Treaty has its own implementing legislation and its own protection under Canada’s Constitution.
There is no mention of DRIPA in the Kitselas Treaty. UNDRIP (the United Nations Declaration, rather than BC’s legislation) is mentioned only as one tool for treaty interpretation. UNDRIP was not a basis for the Treaty and did not influence its contents. The commitments, negotiated between Kitselas, Canada, and BC over more than 30 years, are found in the Treaty itself.
Q: Is Kitselas being given money, and who is paying for this?
A: Under the Treaty, the federal government will provide a capital transfer of about $109.8 million, and the Province will contribute $20 million. This is not a grant, it is a negotiated settlement reached over more than three decades.
Separately, and on an ongoing basis, Canada has also committed funding to support Kitselas’s fisheries implementation, and BC has committed annual interim funding to support Kitselas’s lands and resource-management functions.
Treaty Details and Next Steps
Q: What happens next?
A: Kitselas is currently in Stage 5 of the BC Treaty Commission’s six-stage negotiation process. The Treaty was before the BC Legislature as Bill 21: The Kitselas Treaty Act. With the call of a BC election in fall 2026, the Treaty will have to be re-introduced to the House post-election. Once the Act passes and Canada completes its own parallel ratification process, the Treaty comes into effect.
Find out more about the Treaty process here.
Q: Where can I read the actual Treaty?
A: Several resources are available:
- Full Kitselas Treaty, Appendices, and Atlas
- Plain-language version of Kitselas Treaty
- Bill 21 – 2026, Kitselas Treaty Act
We encourage you to read these resources rather than rely on any summary, including this one.
Q: Was any of this done in secret?
A: No, the Treaty has been negotiated through a public process since 1993:
- 1993: Kitselas enters treaty negotiations with Canada and B.C.
- August 2015: Kitselas Agreement in Principle is signed and publicly available
- Spring 2023: Open House held in the region, plus a Virtual Open House in June. Kitselas Treaty Office hosts multiple public events each year to ensure the general public can ask any questions they have
- 24 June 2024: Chief Negotiators initialed the Treaty.
- 2025: Legal and technical review completed; ratification version published.
- 10 April 2025: Kitselas members voted in favour of the Treaty and Constitution.
- 15 April 2026: Legislation introduced in the B.C. Legislature.
- September 2026: Election called in British Columbia. The Kitselas Treaty will need to be re-introduced in the legislature post-election.
The complete Kitselas Treaty, the Appendices, the Atlas, and a plain-language version are all posted publicly and free to download.