K'ómoks Treaty Act

Passed the Legislature 53 to 39

Bill 20 puts the K'ómoks Treaty into law, ratifies it, and makes the consequential amendments the treaty requires.

The K'ómoks Treaty is an agreement among K'ómoks First Nation, Canada and British Columbia, negotiated since 1994 under the BC treaty process and initialled on July 22, 2024. K'ómoks has about 350 members, centred on the Comox Valley on eastern Vancouver Island. The treaty confirms about 3,442 hectares of land that K'ómoks owns and governs, with a right to add up to 1,592 more. It sets out K'ómoks self-government and is protected by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. K'ómoks members approved it in a vote on March 8, 2025, 81 percent in favour. The Act is British Columbia's ratification step; the treaty takes effect only after Canada passes its own law and the parties fix an effective date.