The Nisga’a Treaty: 10 Years Later-the good and not so good

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June 2011
Survey reveals perceived improvements and deteriorations

In Brief:

The Frontier Centre commissioned COMPAS, a professional polling firm, to conduct computer-assisted interviews with residents of Nisga’a Nation. The purpose is to see if conditions have improved or worsened since that self-government agreement came into effect in 2000.

For comparative control purposes, COMPAS interviewed residents of nearby Tsimshian communities as those communities had not finalized a self-government agreement.

The phone surveys revealed that the Nisga’a trust their government more and believe it is more honest than before in terms of spending and hiring. However, they believe consultations with the public have declined as has the Nisga’a financial situation.

Before other First Nations embark on a self-government agreement, they should study the Nisga’a and see the promises and the pitfalls.

Media Release - The Nisga’a Treaty: 10 Years Later
Survey reveals perceived improvements and deteriorations

Winnipeg/Vancouver- The Frontier Centre for Public Policy today released a study that evaluates the opinions of Nisga’a people on whether their life has improved or deteriorated under the 2000 Nisga’a Treaty, British Columbia’s first modern treaty settlement. The study is co-authored by Frontier’s policy analyst Joseph Quesnel and COMPAS president Conrad Winn.

In this study, the Frontier Centre commissioned COMPAS Inc. to conduct a computer-assisted quantitative phone survey sample of Nisga’a residents to determine their opinions on the trustworthiness of Nisga’a governments, honesty in spending and hiring, the degree of public consultation, and the quality of health and education services. The survey also included members of the nearby Tsimshian First Nation, who are not self-governing, as a comparative or control group. The survey sample involved 121 Nisga’a respondents from all of the four Nisga’a villages, and 26 Tsimshian from two communities. The in-depth ‘key informant’ qualitative sample involved 15 Nisga’a and 15 Tsimshian.

The Frontier Centre policy series, The Nisga’a Treaty, Self-Government, and Good Governance-The Jury is Still Out, reveals a mixed picture of governance and services on the Nisga’a territory.

The Nisga’a Treaty came into effect in 2000. It gave the Nisga’a government some significant law making powers, including paramount rights in areas such as education, health services, and membership in the Nisga’a Nation. Significantly, the treaty provided the Nisga’a with the powers to control their economic development, including rights to land and resources, up to and including sub-surface rights.

After 10 years, however, how and whether these powers have translated into improvements for the Nisga’a has become a question of critical importance given that some view Nisga’a self-government as the model for other First Nations.

"The Nisga’a example should teach other First Nations that Aboriginal self- government in and of itself is not an overnight solution that will erase all problems,” notes Quesnel.

“However, gaining jurisdictional power to take control over their destiny should be the first step toward improving conditions. The Nisga’a are on their way, but they have a long way to go.”

The study reveals the following qualitative results:

• The Nisga’a respondents have a higher sense of trust in the Nisga’a government and perceive it to be more honest in hiring and spending;

• The Nisga’a respondents, as opposed to the Tsimshian control group, believe education and health services have improved since the treaty;

However, the results also highlight areas of concern and room for improvement:

• The Nisga’a respondents think that consultation of the people had declined since the treaty’s enactment;

• Nisga’a respondents believe that economic development has not produced results and think that their economic situation has not improved.

What is also interesting is the discrepancy between the quantitative survey results and the interviews with key Nisga’a informants. On governance issues especially, they view their reality as more nuanced and believe that there are significant governance problems to overcome, including eliminating family-based voting, nepotism, transparency, and politicized service delivery.

“Critically, the Nisga’a also think that their government(s) have not delivered on economic development. Their standard of living as measured by personal income has declined. Clearly, despite self-government, governments need to make good on accountability to their citizens and provide the means for prosperity,” says Quesnel.

“As time goes on, it will be worthwhile to see if the Nisga’a Lisims Government and the village governments can deliver these.”



By convention, the findings from Nisga’a respondents are deemed accurate to within approximately 8 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

The Frontier Centre policy series,
The Nisga’a Treaty, Self-Government, and Good Governance-The Jury is Still Out can be downloaded HERE. http://www.fcpp.org/files/1/PS108_Nisga ... JN25F2.pdf

For more information and to arrange an interview with the study's author, media (only) should contact:

Joseph Quesnel
403-381-0342
QuesnelJ@fcpp.org

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Nisga'a Lisims Government responds to study
showing Nisga'a citizens' increased trust in Nisga'a Government
under the Nisga'a Treaty.

NEW AIYANSH, BC, June 28, 2011

- Mitchell Stevens, President of Nisga'a Lisims Government, commented today on the recent report of the Frontier Centre, a policy group based in Winnipeg, on the Nisga'a Nation's success in advancing self-government under the Nisga'a Treaty.

"Having no advance notice of the Frontier Centre study and reading the report for the first time last night, my first reaction was disappointment that the study's authors didn't contact the Nisga'a Lisims Government before releasing their conclusions. We would have been able to correct the factual errors scattered through the report."

By way of example, President Stevens points to the fact that the study purports to analyze changes in Nisga'a citizens' perception of governance "in the 13 years since the 1998 Nisga'a agreement." The Nisga'a Final Agreement took effect on May 11, 2000 and its 11th anniversary was celebrated last month with the opening of the new Nisga'a Museum. The report also refers to "the existence of cultural taboos on intermarrying outside of clans" - a statement which is completely contrary to Nisga'a cultural traditions.

Also affecting the study's credibility is its reliance on "key informants," mostly unidentified, whose views on the treaty or on Nisga'a self-government appear, at least in some cases, to have been solicited and included in the report without their knowledge or consent. President Stevens himself is cited in more than one passage in the report. "This may give readers, including our own citizens, the perception that I participated in the study and endorse its views. That would be a mistake."

In response to the report's more critical comments, President Stevens stated: "It appears that the colourful commentary of a few have caught the headlines in contrast to the purportedly more reliable statistical findings of the report." President Stevens noted: "The Nisga'a Nation has a democratic, accountable system of government, with numerous legal protections in the Nisga'a Constitution and in Nisga'a law to ensure that we remain at all times accountable to Nisga'a citizens. To cite just one protection, under Nisga'a law, any Nisga'a citizen who believes an elected official has contravened the Members' Code of Conduct - through conflict of interest or otherwise - can seek an investigation by filing a complaint with the Reporting Officer in accordance with the Code."

Nisga'a Lisims Government has not had time to fully digest the report or analyze its methodology. However, the results of the statistical survey that is said to have been undertaken indicates that Nisga'a citizens are, on average, more convinced of the honesty and integrity of Nisga'a Lisims Government, and more confident in its ability to provide health and education services, than under the provincial and federal governments' administration prior to the Treaty.

For further information:
Eric Grandison at 250.633.3000