09/08/2026
"What if we vote ‘no’ to Treaty?"
We know there is a lot of discussion about Treaty and we want to continue to provide as much information as possible to our members. Over the coming weeks, we'll keep on sharing answers to the questions we hear most often.
Have a question you'd like answered? Drop it in the comments below. We will do our best to provide answers or to come with answers at the next Treaty Open House.
___
If there is a ‘no’ vote for Treaty, we will lose options for lands, money and governance. Reserves remain the property of the federal Government. We may also lose access to the opportunities that Treaty funds have provided to us so far. To date, Treaty funds have supported such projects as:
• Clean-up of Warner Bay
• Building of docks in our Homelands
• Business and tourism studies
• Governance research studies, including ways to set up our modern government with traditional government and a review of projected staffing and related needs
• Preservation of our history and teachings of our Elders through a
number of projects including the creation of a library
• Fishery economic feasibility study
• Forestry opportunity study
• Cultural educational tools, such as film projects like “How a People Live” and similar film activities with GNN students at the Eke Me-Xi Learning Centre
• Cultural tour guides for Giga’ak and Ba’as
• Employment and building capacity within the Nations in the areas of communications, community engagement and land-use planning.
It is possible to move towards self-governance with a ‘no’ vote. We will still continue to assert our Rights and Title, negotiate specific issues or agreements or go to court to try and assert our rights.
Voting ‘no’ will mean the status quo will continue with the Nation remaining under the barriers of the Indian Act.
This excerpt was taken from our Treaty booklet, which can be found here:https://www.gwanaknations.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/FAQs.pdf
