A pragmatic path forward

• Commission an independent feasibility study that examines constitutional implications, fiscal models, service transition costs and the likely economic impacts under multiple scenarios.

• Initiate broad-based local consultations with municipal governments, industry and civil society to define shared objectives and governance preferences.

• Negotiate interim agreements with provincial and federal governments that protect existing services and rights while a detailed plan is developed.

• Establish transparent revenue-sharing, fiscal oversight and social-investment frameworks to ensure benefits are distributed equitably.

Any restructuring must place Indigenous people and their inherent rights at the centre of planning, consent and revenue-sharing agreements.

The people would have to determine how services currently provided by provincial institutions would be transitioned. The people would decide how to govern trade, transportation and energy grids to interact with the rest of B.C. and Canada.

The current government fosters division among different cultural communities. A more inclusive approach would ensure that perspectives from all segments of the population are considered, helping to strengthen social cohesion and avoid unnecessary division.

The people will determine how revenues from resource development, infrastructure costs and social services will be managed to ensure the new region is fiscally sustainable, fair and capable of investing in diversification.

We have the opportunity to be a thriving and economically stable region, without the stonewalling tactics of the provincial government.