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Is it possible to advance democracy by empowering ordinary citizens to make key decisions about the design of political institutions and policies? In 2004, the government of British Columbia embarked on a bold democratic experiment: it created an assembly of 160 near-randomly selected citizens to assess and redesign the province's electoral system. The British Columbia Citizens' Assembly represents the first time a citizen body has had the power to reform fundamental political institutions. It was an innovative gamble that has been replicated elsewhere in Canada and in the Netherlands, and is gaining increasing attention in Europe as a democratic alternative for constitution-making and constitutional reform. In the USA, advocates view citizens' assemblies as a means for reforming referendum processes. This book investigates the citizens' assembly in British Columbia to test and refine key propositions of democratic theory and practice. ... Read more

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This book presents the first comprehensive treatment of the land question in British Columbia and is the first to examine the modern political history of British Columbia Indians. It covers the land question from its very beginnings and gives detailed attention to the most recent court decisions, government policies, land claim developments, and Indian protest blockades. Aboriginal claims remain a controversial but little understood issue in contemporary Canada. British Columbia has been, and remains, the setting for the most intense and persistent demands by Native people, and also for the strongest and most consistent opposition to native claims by governments and the non-aboriginal public. Land has been the essential question; the Indians have claimed continuing ownership while the province has steadfastly denied the possibility. Providing a new interpretation of Governor James Douglas, Paul Tennant views him as less generous to the Indians than have most other historians and demonstrates how Douglas was largely responsible for the future course of the land question.In contrast to what many non-Indians are assuming, the Indians of British Columbia began their land claims at the start of white settlement and persevered despite the massive efforts of missionaries and government officials to suppress Indian culture, and despite Parliament's outlawing of claim-related activities. The Indians emerge in this book as political innovators who maintained their identity and ideals and who today have more strength and unity than ever before. The author has conducted extensive interviews with many Indian leaders and has examined the inner workings of government agencies and Indian political organizations. While sympathetic to native claims, he focuses as much on failures and deficiencies as on strengths and successes. "Paul Tennant is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of British Columbia.". This book is intended for. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

At last, someone has tackled this complex issue!!!!
Tennant has done everyone a great service by writing this excellent book.The land question is a nightmare of complex issues and undertones but Tennant has succeeded in presenting this material in a concise matter. Thebook is easy to read and full of important infromation and insights intothe workings of the Indian Politque.A must for anyone involved with FirstNations, natural resource policy, or British Columbian. ... Read more

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This classic of anthropology examines the effects of immigrant settlement on the population, economy, culture, government and religion of British Columbia's First People. This new edition retains Duff's original 1965 text, but contains added photographs and a new foreword updating the names of First Nations in the province. ... Read more

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Originally published in 1977, and reprinted several times since, this text provides an account of the profound impact that white settlement had on Native-European relations in British Columbia after the fur trade ended. Robin Fisher argues that the fur trade had a limited effect on the cultures of Native people. Both Natives and Europeans were involved in a mutually beneficial economic system, and there was no incentive for non-Native fur traders to alter radically the Native social system. With the passing of the fur trade in 1858, however, and the beginning of white settlement, what had been a reciprocal system between the two civilizations became a pattern of white dominance. The second edition includes a preface in which the author re-examines his original arguments, surveys the literature since 1977, and comments on directions for new research. The original edition of the book was published at a time when there was relatively little written by historians on the subject. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The benchmark for texts on West coast Euro-Native relations.
Since the publication of the first edition this text has been the basis for all later works on the subject. This edition also includes an new preface in which Fisher argues against most of the criticism that this book has received. Nonetheless there is no more complete book that surveys the issue available ... Read more

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People, Politics, and Child Welfare in British Columbia traces the evolution of policies and programs intended to protect children in BC from neglect and abuse. Analyzing this evolution reveals that child protection policy and practice has reflected the priorities of politicians and public servants in power. With few exceptions, efforts to establish effective programs have focused on structural arrangements, staffing responsibilities, and rules to regulate the practice of child welfare workers.

Contributors to this book conclude that these attempts have been unsuccessful thus far because they have failed to address the impact of poverty on clients. The need to respect the cultural traditions and values of First Nations clients has also been ignored. Effective services require recognizing and remedying poverty's impact, establishing community control over services, and developing a radically different approach to the day-to-day practice of child welfare workers.

People, Politics, and Child Welfare in British Columbia provides a crucial assessment of the state of child welfare in the province. Practitioners, scholars, and students in social work, child and youth care, education, and other human-service professions will find this book particularly important. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Canadian Parliamentary Review, published by Canadian Parliamentary Review on June 22, 2000. The length of the article is 1464 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Legislative reports: British Columbia.
Author: Kate Ryan-Lloyd
Publication: Canadian Parliamentary Review (Newsletter)
Date: June 22, 2000
Publisher: Canadian Parliamentary Review
Volume: 23Issue: 2Page: 49-51

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In recent years, the forests of British Columbia have become a battleground for sustainable resource development. The conflicts are ever present, usually pitting environmentalists against the forest industry and forestry workers and communities. In an effort to broker peace in the woods, British Columbia’s NDP government launched a number of promising new forest policy initiatives in the 1990s.

In Search of Sustainability brings together a group of political scientists to examine this extraordinary burst of policy activism. Focusing on how much change has occurred and why, the authors examine seven components of BC forest policy: land use, forest practices, tenure, Aboriginal issues, timber supply, pricing, and jobs. Results of initiatives in these policy areas have been mixed. While environmental values have acquired a more central place in BC forest policy, they have not displaced timber production as the dominant force in policy making. Moreover, the authors conclude that despite the astonishing level of activism, the government’s search for sustainability -- whether measured by environmental, social, economic, or political indicators -- has ultimately failed.

In Search of Sustainability is a lucid, provocative, and often sobering examination of a crucial period in the forest industry in a province where forestry remains a central plank of the provincial economy and where environmental pressures, both domestic and foreign, continue to escalate. Essential reading for scholars, teachers, and students of forestry and environmental policy, it will also appeal to anyone interested in the future of forestry both in British Columbia and beyond. ... Read more

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Treaty Talks in British Columbia traces the origins and development of treaty negotiations in the province. Since the second edition of this book was published in 2000, a number of significant developments have occurred: a controversial referendum on treaty mandates was held; the historic Tsawwassen treaty, the first to be signed in the BC treaty process, finally came into effect; and a second treaty was signed with the five Maa-nulth First Nations on the west coast of Vancouver Island. A striking theme running throughout the narrative is the way in which the provincial government changed the way it approached the negotiations and its relations with First Nations.--This updated edition includes a postscript, co-authored with Peter Colenbrander, which provides an extensive overview of the treaty process from 2001 to 2009. The authors outline the achievements of and challenges for the treaty process as well as review some of the most recent jurisprudence affecting Native and non-Native rights. They also reflect on the growing number of initiatives outside the treaty process to achieve reconciliation between First Nations and the Crown and raise questions about the future relationship between these initiatives and treaty negotiations.--Treaty Talks in British Columbia is a valuable resource for those interested in Aboriginal issues and the treaty process both in BC and throughout Canada. Succinct, informative, and easy to read, this book brings clarity to a complex and often contentious issue.--Christopher McKee is a former political scientist at the University of British Columbia and currently Chairman of Gavea Emerging Markets Corporation. Peter Colenbrander joined the BC Treaty Commission in 1995. From 2001 until his retirement in 2008, he was the manager of the Commission's facilitation and monitoring activities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The only publication of its kind
This work remains the only publication of its kind on the subject and, judging from the reviews noted on its backcover, a very good effort at explaining and analyzing the main issues underlying the treaty process in BC. The book has now become a staple in university courses in Canada, the US, and Australia. A third edition is expected sometime in 2006. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Canadian Parliamentary Review, published by Canadian Parliamentary Review on March 22, 2003. The length of the article is 1221 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Legislative reports: British Columbia.
Author: Audrey Chan
Publication: Canadian Parliamentary Review (Newsletter)
Date: March 22, 2003
Publisher: Canadian Parliamentary Review
Volume: 26Issue: 1Page: 43-4

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Product Description
This digital document is an article from Canadian Parliamentary Review, published by Thomson Gale on December 22, 2006. The length of the article is 980 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: British Columbia.(Legislative Reports)
Author: Wynne MacAlpine
Publication: Canadian Parliamentary Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 29Issue: 4Page: 53(2)

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