To provide some information on the common table and how that process unfolded, it was a coming together of several first nations--actually, 60 in British Columbia--from all over the province to deal with issues in common around some of the negotiating mandates, the take-it-or-leave-it positions that were coming to the tables.
One of the issues was certainly recognition, fish was an issue, and own-source revenue was another substantive issue, where there was just a take-it-or-leave-it basic policy. Taxation, the section 87 exemption, was another issue. Some nations were not prepared to perhaps have that model forced on them.
What this table really did, and what it allowed for, was the dialogue between the nations, those sitting at the negotiating tables or on the ground, and representatives from both Canada and British Columbia to really flesh out some of the substantive issues on the ground and come up with some solutions and creative options that the parties could endorse--that there could be more than one option. There were maybe three options to deal with these very specific substantive issues. That would break the logjam of the treaty negotiation process.
At that time, it became extremely stagnant. So through the frustration, these tables came together, the nations came together. There was work that started in 2001, but the process really started to kick off in 2005 and 2006 to deal with the substantive issues that were on the ground, these positional take-it-or-leave-it negotiations. And it did create some opportunities. There was a report generated from the BC Treaty Commission, which is out there and available. And it also created more space to have that additional dialogue, which is still ongoing. Recognition language was tabled from the first nations grouping to the federal system. So we'll see where that's going to go. That is still open, again, trying to come up with some creative solutions to deal with the logjam that was in the process.
Hopefully that has answered you somewhat.