The Northern Shuswap Tribal Council and its affiliated NStQ Treaty Society is holding the Agreement-in-Principle (AiP) referendum on Thursday February 11, with community polling stations open from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m.
NStQ band members 18 years of age and older are eligible to vote at their own bands’ polling station only. The ballot question asks: “Do you support the recommendation of the NStQ Leadership Council to proceed to Final Agreement Negotiations?” Referendum results will be available after 10 a.m. on February 12, 2016.
NStQ is an acronym for Northern Secwepemc teQelmucw (meaning “the Shuswap People of the North”). Its Treaty Society represents four member Shuswap First Nation Bands in British Columbia’s Central-Interior. It is important to note that this referendum is not a vote on the NStQ Treaty itself. It is a vote that will decide whether the NStQ membership wishes to continue into the Final Negotiations Stage (Stage Five) of the six-stage made-in-BC Treaty Process. Stage Five can take anywhere from three to five years to complete. Once a ‘final agreement’ is negotiated, the NStQ membership will be holding a final vote whether to accept the treaty, before the ‘Implementation’ (Stage Six) can begin. Agreement-in-Principle referendum results will be available after 10 a.m. on February 12, 2016.
The five polling stations are as follows:
Canim Lake Indian Band (Tsq’escen’) – Canim Lake Band Administration Building
Williams Lake Indian Band (T’exelc) –Elizabeth Grouse Gymnasium
Soda Creek Indian Band (Xats’ūll) – Soda Creek Health Station
Stswecem’c/Xgat’tem First Nation (Canoe Creek / Dog Creek Indian Bands) – Rosie Seymour Gymnasium, and Dog Creek Community Centre
For information regarding Referendum results please contact:
Marg Casey
(NStQ Referendum Officer)
(250) 392-7361 ext. 208
For information regarding the NStQ Treaty Process please contact:
Donna Dixon
(Chairperson – Northern Shuswap Tribal Council Board of Directors / Soda Creek Band Chief)
(250) 267-7464 d.dixon@xatsull.com
