NStQ Unofficial Referendum Results

Courtesy of the Northern Shuswap Tribal Council:

The Northern Shuswap Tribal Council and its' affiliated NStQ Treaty Group held an Agreement-in-Principle (AiP) referendum yesterday (Thursday, Feb 11th, 2016).  The four First Nation communities which make up the NStQ are: Soda Creek, Williams Lake, Canoe/Dog Creek and Canim Lake

Community members from each of these Bands voted on the following ballot question:

Do you support the recommendation of the NStQ Leadership Council to proceed to Final Agreement Negotiations?"

This is NOT a vote on the NStQ Treaty itself, a process which the NStQ has been involved since 1994.  This referendum determines whether the NStQ membership wishes to continue to the Final Negotiations stage (Stage 5) of the six stage made-in-BC Treaty Process.  If the membership votes 'Yes', to moving forward into Stage 5, that process can take 3-5 years to complete

Then, once a 'final agreement' is negotiated, NStQ membership will conduct a final vote whether or not to accept the negotiated treaty before its' "Implementation" (Stage 6) can begin.  If the membership votes 'No' to moving forward, NStQ Leadership will step back and take time to analyze the results and the process itself before determining the next course of action for the Northern Secwepemc te Qelmucw (NStQ) and its' goal of achieving a future of self determination

Unofficial Results of the Feb. 11th Referendum as follows:

Canim Lake Band - Out of 458 eligible voters; 125 yes to 84 no
Canoe/Dog Creek Band - Out of 582 eligible voters; 113 yes to 72 no
Soda Creek Band - Out of 336 eligible voters; 90 yes to 48 no

Williams Lake Band - 385 eligible voters.  Voting suspended due to disruptive/illegal actions of a small group of protestors predominately comprised of non-WLIB community members.  Williams Lake Indian Band Council has convened to analyze the event and have now determined that a full re-vote will take place for all eligible Williams Lake Indian Band voters on Tuesday, March 15th, 2016

The referendum results are unofficial and currently are being verified by the Referendum Officer.

Once final counts are confirmed - leadership from each of the four NStQ member communities will be distributing individual releases with statements specific to the voting results and next steps in their respective communities