ee Page A10- The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, une 30, 1993 TERRACE -—— Charles Con- naghan is a busy man. And- he’s only. going to get busier. Connaghan is the chief com-. missioner of the - newly- established . British Columbia Treaty Commission. He was in town last week to meet with .Nisga’a members to gather. ideas on the treaty negotia- ‘tion process, . We're:trying to get our. hands around our mandate,’’ he says. “We're here to listen to people, not to tell them what we think.”’ Commission members were an- nounced April 15, The commis- sion itselE dates back to a 1990 task. force. report that recom- mended a‘ new negotiation. pro- COBB In September 1992, an agree- ment endorsing the report was signed by. Prime Minister Mul- ronéy,” Premier’ Harcourt and members -of the First Nations Summit,. -which ‘Tepresents the majority of First Nations in B.C. The -commission was appointed as a result of the agreement. Connaghan was jointly ap- pointed by the federal and B.C. governments and the First Na- tions Summit. His appointment is. Chuck Connaghan for three years. Connaghan says the commis- sion has two main functions. The first is what he calls a '‘gatekeep- ing function’? - the committee will determine whether or not the various parties are ready to enter into B.C. treaty negotiations. “We have to agree that the parties are ready to go into the negotiation,” he says. The second function is to monitor the negotiations and ~~ make sure they proceed 4s smoothly as possible. **We don’t do the negotiating,’ says Connaghan, *'We are merely there to monitor.’” He adds that the committee is obligated to report Its progress once a year to the First Nations Summit, the House of Commons and the provincial legislature, Connaghan is adamant about the need to resolve ongoing land claims issues. ‘Its time to try to and solve it (land claims). We're trying to be part of the solution and not tie problem.’ There are four other commiltice members. Carole Corcoran and Douglas Kelfy are First Nations appointees, while Barbara Fisher and Dr. Lorne Greenaway are ap- pointees of the provincial and federal governmenis, respective- ly. These members received two- year appoiniments, Connaghan brings extensive ex- perience to the commission. He was the founding chairman of the B.C. Roundtable on the Environ- ment and the Economy, and ran his own industrial consulting firm for 13 years, He says the commission is a unique concept which hasn’t been ommission has big task CN attempted before, Thus, commitiee members are seeking information from federal and provincial governments and First Nations members. ‘Comnaghan notes the Nisga’a have land claim experience; and feels they will offer a useful out- look.. _ **Some of us have experience in negotiation, but nothing as com- : plicated as this,"’ he says, adding .. that the process is so complex be- cause it embodies economic, so- cial. and self-government issues. _ According lo Connaghan, the commission, which will move into its Vancouver offices July 1, has an annual budget of $1.7 mil- Jion, provided by the federal and provincial governments. © Connaghan is hoping to accept Slatements of intent from First Nations groups by September. He says that about 23 applications have been presented to the federal government, and these will likely be forwarded to the commission. **T think we're going to ‘have a very, very busy fall,’’ he admits. A toll-free number is being set. up to provide people across. the Province with access to commis- sion information. The number, 1- 800-665-8330, will be operational at the beginning of July. Johnstone Dining Room Mount Layton Hotsprings Resort Lid. evening buffet. Our Chef, Larry and our dining room manager, . Ellanore invite you to a delightful All You Can Eat | 6. 95 _ _ Reservations Suggested Z 96-221 4 HURRY TO BRIGHTEN | LAST CHANCE YOUR HOME ~All In Stock LIGHT FIXTURES Zw. ODOUR CONTROL SERVICES - ‘UN-DO’ to neutralize odour PET ODOUR - extraction SMOKE ODOUR $= - Thermo-fogging WATER/SEWER _ - drying services - 'MICROBAN’ to control mildew and bacterial growth 635-3558 Allan Banner ta prevent carpet staining - odour conteractants wT (RRATLONaL CLATIFICATION- ENZOE 2O-O2mMvocw o~ -