Call for Ktunaxa Task Force Members – IMBA Review
Call for Ktunaxa Task Force Members – IMBA Review
March 27, 2025
We’re looking for Ktunaxa citizens to join a Task Force to help review and shape changes to the Impact Management and Benefits Agreement (IMBA).
📌 The task force will be:
✅ 1 Elder from the TKL Advisory Committee
✅ 1 Elder from the Lands Advisory Working Group
✅ 2 Youth Members
✅ 2 Citizens-at-Large
🔄 Each member will have an alternate
📅 Commitment:
- Meet about four times from May to December
- Engage with Ktunaxa citizens once or twice if needed
- Compensation is by-the-day at KNC committee rates: Please ask
📚 No prior knowledge needed—an IMBA 101 session will be provided!
📩 Interested?
Contact Alexis: alexisj.martig@ktunaxa.org(External link)
Deadline is April 17, 2025
Why This Matters
The IMBA was originally signed in 2016 between Ktunaxa and Teck Coal
(now EVR, after its 2024 acquisition by Glencore).
A third-party review in 2023 led to a set of recommendations,
which were shared with Ktunaxa leadership and citizens.
At last year’s engagement sessions, citizens and non-KNC staff
said they wanted more involvement in shaping these changes.
This Task Force is being formed in response to that feedback.
Now is your chance to help ensure Ktunaxa voices guide the next steps!
Find out more about the IMBA by visiting the engagement site, Ktunaxa Hakq̓yit.
The project is for Ktunaxa only, so you will need to register for the site HERE
Economic & Investment Sector: Spring Community Outreach
Ktunaxa Nation statement on CRT ‘pause’
Amid the U.S. ‘pause’ on the Columbia River Treaty modernization,
the Nation looks to work that has been done and the necessity for a finalized treaty
March 19, 2025: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cranbrook, B.C. Despite the United States pausing its participation in talks for a modernized Columbia River Treaty, the Ktunaxa Nation continues to work in good faith with the governments of British Columbia and Canada on domestic matters related to the treaty negotiations.
“We remain committed to ensuring the CRT is updated to address our rights and will continue to work with our First Nations partners, B.C. and Canada to improve the treaty,” said Kathryn Teneese, Ktunaxa Nation Council Chair.
“It was good to reach an agreement in principle last July. The reality is that both countries—and all parties—need a modernized treaty, whether it happens sooner or later.”
The Ktunaxa Nation homelands are at the headwaters of the Columbia River.
The agreement in principle (AIP), which was signed by both Canada and the United States, is not a new treaty. It is a map to get to a new treaty and represents years of technical input and negotiation. The AIP outlines key elements of a modernized treaty, such as ecosystem health, salmon restoration to the upper Columbia River, reduced water-level fluctuations in reservoirs, and better control over river flows.
The AIP also recommends an Indigenous/tribal advisory body and a transboundary working group.
“A modernized treaty would recognize and honour Ktunaxa rights and title as stewards at the Columbia Headwaters,” Teneese said. “The current pause in the treaty’s renegotiation provides our Nation with a critical opportunity to advance domestic discussions and address longstanding grievances stemming from the treaty’s historic impacts.”
When the current treaty was established in 1964, Ktunaxa were not consulted, nor were any other Indigenous nations. Long term environmental effects weren’t fully factored in, and the proliferation of dams and flooding of former habitat negatively impacted lands, waters and cultural heritage in ʔamakʔis Ktunaxa, the Ktunaxa homelands.
In addition to its involvement in the treaty modernization, the Ktunaxa Nation is a proud partner in the Columbia River Salmon Reintroduction Initiative (CRSRI).
“Salmon was a cornerstone of Ktunaxa diet and culture,” Teneese said. “Dam construction severed this connection, resulting in a deep cultural and ecological loss that goes beyond the treaty itself. We have been working collaboratively for years to seek redress for the damage caused by these historic projects.”
“We are at a pivotal moment where we can address the historical injustices caused by the Columbia River Treaty and contribute to a modernized treaty that enhances ecosystems and the power infrastructure that depends on these ecosystems. We look forward to a finalized agreement,” Teneese said.
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news@ktunaxa.org
New approach to distribute $58 million for environmental projects in the Kootenay Region of British Columbia
Government of Canada and Ktunaxa Nation launch an approach to distribute $58 million for environmental projects in the Kootenay Region of British Columbia
News release
March 13, 2025 – Vancouver, British Columbia
The Government of Canada is committed to conserving and protecting Canada’s natural biodiversity and supporting the leadership of Indigenous peoples to help conserve ecosystems, protect Indigenous cultures, and develop sustainable economies for future generations.
Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced that the Government of Canada and the Ktunaxa Nation are advancing a co‑developed approach to allocate $58 million in funding to deliver projects that restore, enhance, and conserve fish and fish habitat in British Columbia’s Kootenay Region, focused on benefiting Qukin ʔamakʔis (Elk Valley). The funding comes from a 2021 landmark penalty paid by Teck Coal Limited to the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund.
This approach includes non-competitive, project-based funding of up to $30 million for Ktunaxa First Nations and Ktunaxa Nation Council, as well as up to $6 million each available for other Kootenay Region First Nations, namely, Shuswap Band and Okanagan Nation Alliance. This funding will support the communities’ ability to deliver projects that enhance, restore, or conserve fish or fish habitat. It will also be used to carry out research and development to improve the understanding of issues related to the enhancement, conservation, or restoration of fish or fish habitat.
In addition, $16 million will be available to fund projects through an open, competitive call for applications co-developed by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Ktunaxa Nation.
Quotes
“The Government of Canada is committed to working with First Nations through meaningful collaboration rooted in the spirit of partnership and principles of reconciliation. This partnership with Ktunaxa is a significant and novel milestone, showcasing federal collaboration with an Indigenous Nation to distribute funding through the Environmental Damages Fund. This collaboration recognizes the importance of traditional knowledge and expertise in caring for the interconnected ecosystem of Qukin ʔamakʔis.”
– The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change
“This partnership recognizes the Ktunaxa Nation’s stewardship of Qukin ʔamakʔis. It’s a first, and it brings the spirit of reconciliation alive in action. We value being able to work together as true partners to protect the land, water, and all living beings in our territory.”
– Kathryn Teneese, Chair, Ktunaxa Nation Council
“We have the opportunity now to guide the direction, to lead, and to collaborate with all of those who want to be a part of the solution to fix our waterways and heal what has been damaged. As ʔakanuxunik’, we have an inherent responsibility to be a part of the process that’s going to heal our water and to heal our lands.”
– Nasuʔkin Heidi Gravelle, Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi’it
“This funding is a step toward redressing the impacts of mining on Qukin ʔamakʔis, restoring our fish habitats, and healing the land for future generations.”
– Nasuʔkin Cheryl Casimer, ʔaq̓am
“The Environmental Damages Fund will support environmental remediation efforts that mitigate impacts to ʔamakʔis Ktunaxa, aligning with our traditional stewardship values as Ktunaxa people.”
– Nasuʔkin Donald Sam, ʔakisq̓nuk
Quick facts
The call for applications will be administered through the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund.
Applications will be jointly reviewed by Environment and Climate Change Canada and Ktunaxa representatives to ensure that projects chosen to receive funding maximize environmental benefits and align with Ktunaxa stewardship values and principles.
First Nations may choose to advance projects independently or in collaboration with partners.
To support the Ktunaxa Nation’s full participation in the joint review of the call for applications, and to advance the development of Ktunaxa-led projects, up to $3.25 million of the $30-million allocation will be made available to Ktunaxa First Nations and the Ktunaxa Nation Council to support administrative and technical capacity within their organizations.
Qukin ʔamakʔis (Elk Valley) is located in ʔamakʔis Ktunaxa (Ktunaxa homelands).
It is an area of conservation significance with important flora and fauna and is a critical north-south corridor for animal migration.
The environmental infraction was in Qukin ʔamakʔis (Elk Valley) in ʔamakʔis Ktunaxa (Ktunaxa homelands).
Recognizing the impacts to the Ktunaxa, the mechanism for allocating the funding in Qukin ʔamakʔis has been developed collaboratively with Ktunaxa.
Funding will be disbursed in a manner that advances Environment and Climate Change Canada’s and Ktunaxa’s shared priorities and interests and ensures strong results that benefit the environment.
The Teck Coal Limited penalty is the highest ever imposed for pollution in violation of the Fisheries Act, and the second largest award directed to the Environmental Damages Fund.
Created in 1995, the Environmental Damages Fund is a Government of Canada program administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Fines imposed as penalties under environmental legislation following prosecutions are credited to the Environmental Damages Fund, which ensures that environmental good follows environmental harm.
The Environmental Damages Fund ensures that fines collected from environmental infractions are used to support projects that protect nature, restore habitats, and preserve wildlife populations.
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Associated links
Environmental Damages Fund: Funds Available in Qukin ʔamakʔis (Elk Valley)
Contacts
Hermine Landry
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change
873-455-3714
Hermine.Landry@ec.gc.ca
Media Relations
Environment and Climate Change Canada
819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll-free)
media@ec.gc.ca
Ktunaxa Nation Council
Trish Barnes
Public Relations Coordinator
Trish.Barnes@ktunaxa.org
250-489-2464