Progress on a new Columbia River Treaty that has been under negotiation for a number of years has come to a screeching halt as the tangle of US President Donald Trump’s tangential policy whims appears to have caught up with the treaty.
First Nations leaders say wild salmon, ecological health and Indigenous rights must be at the forefront of efforts to update a 60-year-old international deal governing the waters of the Columbia River.
The Columbia River Treaty won’t get ‘modernized’ unless it reduces impacts on Columbia Basin communities and ecosystems, says the team representing Canada at the negotiation table.
First Nations are asking for the return of the salmon to the entire Columbia River system as part of the Columbia River Treaty negotiations, including the upper portion of the Arrow Lakes, in order to reclaim their culture.
