Since 2015, the SLRD has partnered with the District of Lillooet, Lillooet Tribal Council, and the P’egp’íg’lha Council to build relationships, improve communication and explore opportunities for collaboration. With funding support from UBCM’s Community to Community (C2C) Program, several leadership gatherings have been held since 2015, an Intergovernmental Relations Working Group was established (2016-2019) and a Protocol Agreement for Communication and Cooperation was signed between the SLRD, District of Lillooet and P’egp’íg’lha Council in 2018.
At the leadership gathering in 2024, delegates agreed that it was time to formalize a process to help the SLRD, District of Lillooet and all six northern St’at’imc communities work more closely together. The parties are now in the process of finalizing a Terms of Reference for an Intergovernmental Leadership Committee to advance government-to-government relationships rooted in mutual respect, recognition of St’at’imc Title and rights, and shared commitments to reconciliation.
Once the Terms of Reference has been finalized, it will be submitted to the SLRD Board of Directors, District of Lillooet Mayor and Council and the Chiefs and Councils of all six northern St’át’imc communities for approval. Following these approvals, participating organizations will appoint their representatives to the Committee, and the first meeting will be scheduled (targeted for early 2026).
Context and Background
The District of Lillooet and Electoral Areas A and B of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) are found within the northern portion of the unceded territory of the St’át’imc Nation, which includes the independent and self-governing northern St’át’imc communities of Sekw’el’was (Cayoose Creek), T’ít’q’et, Tsal’alh, Ts’kw’aylaxw, Xáxlí’p and Xwísten (Bridge River).
Strengthening relationships, improving communication and enhancing collaboration between local and St’át’imc governments has long been recognized as a foundational action necessary to ensure the long-term health and wellbeing of the many communities in northern St’át’imc Territory. An Economic Development Governance Model Feasibility Study commissioned by the SLRD in 2014 recommended that an inclusive regional committee (or similar) be established to improve communication and collaboration between the various governments and related economic development organizations.
After approaching the northern St’át’imc communities to discuss the potential to establish such a partnership, the SLRD were cautioned that improved organizational understanding and relationships between the SLRD, District of Lillooet and northern St’át’imc communities would be needed before effective economic development dialogue could move forward. This included key issues around colonization, St’át’imc title and rights, St’át’imc perspectives on economic development, and greater understanding of participating organizations with respect to their jurisdictions, roles and responsibilities.
Following this, in 2015 staff from the SLRD, District of Lillooet, Lillooet Tribal Council and P’egp’íg’lha Council organized a Community to Community (C2C) Leadership Gathering to begin the dialogue around these foundational issues. Leaders from the six northern St’át’imc communities, the District of Lillooet and the SLRD attended the meeting, which took place in January 2016. A key recommendation from this first meeting was that a working group be established to draft a Protocol Agreement for Communication and Cooperation.
An Intergovernmental Relations Working Group (IRWG) was established shortly thereafter with active participation from the District of Lillooet, P’egp’íg’lha Council and SLRD. A second Leadership Gathering was held in 2017 and a Protocol Agreement for Communication and Cooperation was signed by the District of Lillooet, P’egp’íg’lha Council and SLRD in May 2018 (Read the News Release). The Working Group continued to meet regularly through 2019, and a third Leadership Gathering was held, but momentum stalled with the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Staff-level meetings resumed in 2022, leading to another successful Leadership Gathering in September 2024, where leadership from all six northern St’át’imc communities, the District of Lillooet and the SLRD agreed that a leadership group should be established to define a shared mandate for working together, along with a list of priority issues, objectives and measures of success. Following the 2024 meeting, staff from the participating organizations worked together to draft a Terms of Reference for the Leadership. Following this, on May 30, 2025, another C2C Forum was held to provide delegates with an opportunity to review and share feedback on the draft Terms of Reference.
Delegates at the meeting confirmed that the Terms of Reference was ‘directionally correct’ but that more refinements were needed. Staff are now in the process of convening a meeting of an ‘ad hoc’ leadership group to further discuss and finalize the Terms of Reference.