The landmark treaty of British Columbia's Tsawwassen First Nation will abolish its reserve, add to its land base and end the tax exemption that has long defined Indian identity in Canada. Opposition is fierce, but the province's chief negotiator argues that the agreement will give the Tsawwassen what they seek most — control of their destiny.

PHOTO: TFN

Under the terms of the agreement, the Tsawwassen reserve will disappear, and for the first time, provincial land-use laws will apply to territory governed by a First Nation. Individual Tsawwassen members will be able to own land and will eventually pay sales tax and income tax.

Canada's first major urban treaty, signed by the Tsawwassen First Nation of southern British Columbia in December 2007, is revolutionary in its potential impact and influence on Canada's future relationship with aboriginal people. But it unleashed a firestorm of opposition. Under the terms of the agreement, the Tsawwassen reserve will disappear, and for the first time, provincial land-use laws will apply to territory governed by a First Nation. Individual Tsawwassen members will be able to own land and will eventually pay sales tax and income tax. But the Tsawwassen Treaty was not Canada's, nor British Columbia's, first controversial treaty. The Nisga'a First Nation signed this country's first modern treaty in 2000.

Read about both of these historic agreements in this edition of Canadian Geographic in-depth, listen to Tsawwassen's challengers discuss their opposition to the treaty, tell us what you think about the stories about aboriginal treaties in Canada and view slideshows and video of the Tsawwassen community and its culture.

The treaty was driven by the Gateway - the provincial plan to expand the port and connect it with new and wider highways. This ignores the collapse of the US dollar, the steep decline in cross Pacific container traffic, the availability of new routres such as the North West passage and the widened Panama Canal and the key role played by the railways in moving transcontinental freight. All these issues are dealt at length in my blog - stephenrees.wordpress.com and on the Livable Region web site
livableregion.ca.

This is typical of the short term thinking that bedevils our political system. We need to take a strategic view of how our world is changing - and how to cope with that. Unfortunately, the appeals to justice in the TFN process have been ignored by the grab for the quick buck. A sad day for Canada and the Tsawwassen, who both deserve much better leaders with real vision

The TFN treaty was done without proper consideration of the Semiahmoo First Nation treaty, the protection of our Agricultural Land Reserve, or the Environment. This is not about giving TFN its due... its about expanding DeltaPort at the expense of our farmland, the Fraser River estuary, and our air quality in a area that shouldn't have been considered for a port in the first place. Tsawwassen First Nations accepted individual cash payouts from the government for signing the treaty and now we will all have to live with the blight of container sprawl on some of the best farmland and most important wildlife habitat in the world.

Just a few miles to the North in Richmond we have another parcel of the prime agricultural land that is currently under the review of the Agriculture Land Commission to be probably released from the ALR and be developed into the mixed residential area - our beautiful 136 acres Garden City Lands. The First Nations people needs are used as a reason for the land to be developed again so they can get their money and we can loose another parcel of the land that could feed our children. Their children need to eat as well - all our children will suffer in the future because the land, once developed, will be lost for the agriculture forever. There is not enough appreciation for the value of the undeveloped land now.