Landmark Tsawwassen Treaty Legislation Introduced

The British Columbia treaty process reached a historic milestone this week with the introduction of Tsawwassen First Nation settlement legislation in the legislature.

• The Tsawwassen First Nation, located at Roberts Bank in Delta, entered treaty negotiations in 1993 and initialled a Final Agreement with B.C. and Canada in December 2006. On July 25, 2007, Tsawwassen members voted 70 per cent in favour of ratifying the Final Agreement, which provides the First Nation with approximately 724 hectares of treaty settlement land and a cash transfer of $13.9 million over 10 years.
• A total of 78 sessions were held in all regions of the province and included forums, meetings and focus groups with health professionals, patients and members of the public.
• These sessions also included meetings with municipal leaders, Aboriginal groups, academics and children.

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Grade Two Students to Become "Energy Detectives"

Grade 2 students across British Columbia will be transformed into €˜energy detectives€™ thanks to a BC Hydro program that teaches energy conservation, Premier Gordon Campbell announced this week as he launched a new Power Smart school program. The Energy Detectives program will be delivered to Grade 2 teachers throughout B.C. at workshops in their school districts. In turn, Grade 2 students will learn how to make good energy-use choices and develop an understanding of what it means to be Power Smart. The lesson plans were supplied to school districts this week to be implemented this year. The materials include:

• Smarty and the Energy Detectives: The Mysterious Equation, a 32-page storybook illustrated by Kim La Fave, an award-winning illustrator.
• A teacher resource guide with 10 Monday-morning ready lesson plans, background information, literacy strategies and assessment tools.
• The Energy Detectives Student Handbook, an activity workbook.
• Playing cards, bookmarks and posters bearing an electrical safety message.

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Unique Collaboration to Recover Mountain Caribou

Representatives from conservation organizations, the forest industry and outdoor recreation organizations joined Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell this week in announcing a partnership that will recover British Columbia'€™s mountain caribou to sustainable numbers. The goal is to restore the mountain caribou population to the pre-1995 level of 2,500 animals throughout their existing range in B.C. The Province will provide $1,000,000 per year for three years to support adaptive management plans.

The plan includes:

• Protect 2.2 million hectares of mountain caribou range from logging and road building, capturing 95 per cent of the caribou'€™s high suitability winter habitat. This will lead to a growth of approximately 380,000 hectares of protected forest within mountain caribou range.
• Manage human recreational activities in mountain caribou habitat in a manner that ensures critical habitat areas are effectively protected.
• Boost caribou numbers in threatened herds with animals transplanted from elsewhere to ensure herds achieve critical mass for self-sufficiency.

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