K'ómoks Treaty Act

K'ómoks Treaty Act 18 2026 May 28, 2026 1007424485/20742927/1564168672 E4tlc26018 Preamble WHEREAS the recognition of the prior presence of Aboriginal peoples, and the reconciliation of that prior presence with the assertion of sovereignty by the Crown, are of significant social and economic importance to all British Columbians; AND WHEREAS Canadian courts have stated that this reconciliation is best achieved through negotiation and agreement, rather than through litigation; AND WHEREAS, in order to achieve this reconciliation, representatives of K'ómoks, Canada and British Columbia have negotiated the K'ómoks Treaty in a process facilitated by the British Columbia Treaty Commission; AND WHEREAS treaty relationships with First Nations are key components of British Columbia's work to close the social and economic gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people; AND WHEREAS the K'ómoks Treaty advances the objectives of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; AND WHEREAS the K'ómoks Treaty requires that British Columbia legislation be enacted and brought into force to give effect to the K'ómoks Treaty; THEREFORE HIS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows: Definitions and interpretation 1 1 In this Act: finance minister means the member of the Executive Council responsible for the administration of the Financial Administration Act ; K'ómoks Treaty means a the K'ómoks Treaty among K'ómoks, His Majesty the King in right of Canada and His Majesty the King in right of British Columbia, b amendments to the treaty made in accordance with it, and c changes to the treaty agreed to under paragraphs 102 and 103 of Chapter 1 [General Provisions] of the treaty; minister means the member of the Executive Council responsible for the administration of this Act. 2 Words and expressions used in this Act have the same meanings as they have in the K'ómoks Treaty, unless the context requires otherwise. Not in force 2–3 [Not in force.] Authorization to sign K'ómoks Treaty 4 The Lieutenant Governor in Council may authorize a member of the Executive Council to sign the K'ómoks Treaty. Not in force 5–11 [Not in force.] Tax treatment agreement 12 1) and (2 [Not in force.] 3 The finance minister is authorized to enter into the agreement required under paragraph 21 of Chapter 22 of the K'ómoks Treaty, or an agreement amending that agreement, and may sign the agreement or amending agreement before or after it has been approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. 4 [Not in force.] Not in force 13–21 [Not in force.] Publication on legislation website 22 1 In this section and section 23, legislation website means a if a website is not designated by regulation, the website maintained by the King's Printer at www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/treaties, or b a website designated by regulation under subsection (4). 2 The minister must provide a copy of the K'ómoks Treaty, in Portable Document Format (PDF), to the King's Printer for publication on the legislation website. 3 The King's Printer must do the following: a as soon as practicable after receiving a copy of the K'ómoks Treaty from the minister, publish the copy on the legislation website; b maintain the copy on the legislation website. 4 The Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by regulation, designate a website maintained by the King's Printer as the legislation website. Judicial notice and proof 23 1 Judicial notice must be taken of the K'ómoks Treaty. 2 A document purporting to be a true copy of the K'ómoks Treaty accessed from the legislation website must be admitted in evidence as proof of the treaty and its contents. 3 A document is presumed to be accessed from the legislation website if the document is submitted with an oral or written statement indicating that it was accessed from the legislation website. Retroactive effect of Chapters 23 and 24 24 1 For the purposes of determining the eligibility of individuals for enrolment under the K'ómoks Treaty, enrolling individuals under the K'ómoks Treaty and the ratification of the treaty by K'ómoks, a Chapters 23 [Eligibility and Enrolment] and 24 [Ratification of This Agreement] of the K'ómoks Treaty are conclusively deemed to have come into force on July 22, 2024 and are retroactive to the extent necessary to give them force and effect on and after that date, b all things done that would have been validly done if Chapters 23 and 24 of the K'ómoks Treaty had been in force on July 22, 2024 are conclusively deemed to have been validly done, and c a person, committee or board is conclusively deemed to have had since July 22, 2024 the powers, privileges and immunities the person, committee or board would have had if Chapters 23 and 24 of the K'ómoks Treaty had been in force on July 22, 2024. 2 Each of the following bodies, despite the Personal Information Protection Act , is conclusively deemed to have had, on and after July 22, 2024, lawful authority to collect, use and disclose personal information as necessary for determining the eligibility of individuals for enrolment under the K'ómoks Treaty, enrolling individuals under the K'ómoks Treaty and the ratification of the treaty by K'ómoks, all in accordance with the processes required by the treaty: a the Enrolment Committee established under paragraph 14 of Chapter 23 of the K'ómoks Treaty; b the Enrolment Appeal Board established under paragraph 23 of Chapter 23 of the K'ómoks Treaty; c the Ratification Committee established under paragraph 5 of Chapter 24 of the K'ómoks Treaty. 3 A body referred to in subsection (2) must comply with section 35 of the Personal Information Protection Act in relation to the personal information referred to in subsection (2) of this section as if the body were an organization as defined in that Act. 4 This section must not be construed as lacking retroactive effect in relation to any matter because it makes no specific reference to that matter. Not in force 25–26 [Not in force.] Consequential and Related Amendments 27–37 [Note: See Table of Legislative Changes for the status of sections 27 to 37.] Section(s) Affected Act 27–28 Forest Act 29–31 Islands Trust Act 32–35 Land Title Act 36 Perpetuity Act 37 Petroleum and Natural Gas (Vancouver Island Railway Lands) Act Commencement 38 The provisions of this Act referred to in column 1 of the following table come into force as set out in column 2 of the table: Item Column 1 Provisions of Act Column 2 Commencement 1 Anything not elsewhere covered by this table The date of Royal Assent 2 Sections 2 and 3 By regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council 3 Sections 5 to 11 By regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council 4 Section 12 (1) and (2) By regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council 5 Section 12 (4) By regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council 6 Sections 13 to 21 By regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council 7 Sections 25 and 26 By regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council 8 Section 37 By regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council