What We Do

Canada and the U.S. continue to meet for further rounds of negotiations to 

modernize the Columbia River Treaty – for updates see: the BC CRT News website. In 2018 we worked with the CRT Negotiating Team to establish a 

Columbia River Treaty Negotiations Team - Local Governments Committee Communications and Engagement Protocol. Based on this Protocol, the 

Committee receives verbal updates after each negotiating session. The Protocol 

also states that the Negotiations Team will seek input from the Committee to 

consider the LGC Treaty Recommendations in the negotiations and advice from 

the Committee will be sought if negotiating outcomes appear not to be consistent 

with the Committee’s Recommendations, including specific desired outcomes if 

these were defined in the Committee’s Recommendations.​​​

The CRT Negotiations Advisory Team, which includes the five governments 

involved in negotiating a modernized Treaty – Canada, BC, Ktunaxa Nation, 

Secwepemc Nation and Syilx-Okanagan Nation – has an initiative underway to 

examine potential modernized domestic governance models for the Treaty. The 

initiative explores both the role of Indigenous Nations in the context of the 

commitment of the federal and provincial governments to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and involving Basin 

communities in future decisions regarding Treaty operations planning. The 

Committee has been preparing to engage in this critically important initiative. 

In June 2022 the Committee committed to adopting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by integrating Indigenous reconciliation into the Committee’s actions. We strive to be in contact quarterly with representatives of the regional Indigenous Nations whom we recognize and support as active observers in the CRT negotiating process. 

Since 2019 the Committee has led the integration of community social and economic interests for the Kootenay and Columbia River systems into river management scenario modelling within a modernized Treaty. Research has been completed to identify community interests that are impacted by reservoir levels and river flows and to compile available information on preferred levels for interests such as flooding, navigation, health, agriculture, recreation and tourism. The Committee and the Columbia Basin Regional Advisory Committee have provided advice throughout this initiative and the public was invited to provide input in the early winter of 2023. For more information see the Committee’s Socio-Economic Integration webpage.  

In 2019 we updated and refined our 2013 Recommendations based on current 

information on the issues from our research and what we heard from Basin 

residents at the 2018 community meetings. Then we invited feedback on the draft 

Recommendations during the 2019 community meetings. Updated 

Recommendations were released at the beginning of 2021 - See Our Recommendations.

In 2018 and 2019 the Committee assisted the BC CRT Team to host two series of community meetings across the Basin to update information about CRT related issues and community concerns. See 2018 Community Meeting Summary Report and 2019 Community Meeting Summary Report.