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Penticton  

'Monumental' partnership: Syilx Chiefs and Okanagan-Silmilkameen leaders gather to sign historic agreement to protect local water

'Monumental' partnership

Casey Richardson

Syilx Chiefs and local leaders gathered in Penticton on Friday afternoon to sign a historic agreement to address water issues across Okanagan and Similkameen.

The band leaders, mayors, councillors, and regional district representatives from the North Okanagan down to Osoyoos and over into the Similkameen signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to protect local water, marking the first time elected leaders have come together to discuss issues of common concern beyond their jurisdictional boundaries.

Called “a groundbreaking move for Syilx-led environmental stewardship” by the Okanagan Nation Alliance, the signatories to the MOA are said to represent 126 elected leaders who have formalized their shared commitment to protecting water.

The ONA said they hope the remaining districts and municipalities will join this agreement in the future.

“This signals a new era of cooperation, collaboration and action for reconciliation,” the added.

Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield said the day was a “pretty historic event” and shows that the local leaders care about the environment.

“We recognize that what one community does, all communities feel the consequences of. So it's about joint management and having a collaborative approach,” he added.

“[It’s] pretty monumental, especially in the speed with which it's happened and I think it shows that there's an overall will to really turn the corner on relations with First Nations.”

Penticton Indian Band Chief Gabriel said, “The signing of the MOA and creation of the leaders table developed through the Collaborative Leadership Initiative (CLI) has been a long time coming and provides leaders who know their watersheds best, a platform to discuss and act on water challenges that are too big for any one government to solve alone.”

The CLI process is described by the ONA as a “collaborative and inclusive engagement” process that builds relationships between the parties.

The local leaders have been meeting for the past 18 months to draft the MOA, overseen by the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER).

Vernon Mayor Victor Cummings said, “There are very few opportunities and processes for leaders to come together and work together, CLI facilitation was important in supporting the leaders as they developed the MOA.”

The MOA also will provide a framework for how the leaders will work together as neighbours and in partnership.

Chief Robert Louie from Westbank First Nation reminded the leaders “that the health of our water impacts every one of us in this room, it affects our families and anybody who lives here and visits here. In our culture and in our beliefs – water is sacred, without it, we cannot live.”

This agreement supports the frameworks and implementation of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the BC Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA).

The government and community leaders will continue to meet to address water issues across the Okanagan and Similkameen watersheds.



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