History

The Fraser River is a source of life that has always connected our First Nations communities.

Thousands of years ago, Upper Fraser First Nations established their respective territories near the salmon-rich Fraser River and its tributaries. The pristine lakes, rivers, and streams within the region give rise to the natural gifts of the land, and their territories have sustained fishing, hunting, gathering, trading, cultural, and settlement uses since time immemorial. 

With the arrival of European settlers and the formation of Canada, colonial legislation was enacted that limited Indigenous fishery access, benefiting the emerging marine commercial fishery. This resulted in conflicts over the years including various legal challenges.

Passed in 1982, the Constitution of Canada recognized and affirmed existing Aboriginal and Treaty Rights under Section 35, which provided a measure of protection for First Nations against infringement of their fishing rights. In the 1990 R v Sparrow case the Supreme Court of Canada also affirmed:

  • First Nations have an Aboriginal Right to fish for food, social, and ceremonial (FSC) purposes
  • the Crown has a fiduciary duty to First Nations
  • the Crown must bear the burden of justifying the infringement of Aboriginal Rights
  • after conservation, First Nations FSC fisheries take priority over all other uses of the resource
  • First Nations must be consulted when their fishing rights may be affected

In response to the Sparrow decision and to improve fisheries management, DFO launched the Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy (AFS) in 1992. Numerous Upper Fraser River First Nations signed AFS funding agreements.

While Upper Fraser First Nations shared many fisheries interests, priorities, concerns, and challenges, they lacked a structured process to work together.

Recognizing the benefits of coordination and collaboration at the technical level, Upper Fraser First Nations saw a need for a regional technical process to convene and build capacity to participate more effectively in fisheries management activities and processes. Owing to their technical focus, they emphasized a watershed-based approach in their activities and planning, rather than a focus on political boundaries.

Upper Fraser First Nations and DFO held initial meetings in 2001 to discuss the formation of the regional technical body that would become the UFFCA. DFO resource management staff at the time helped to advance the UFFCA concept on the government side, while concurrently working as part of the DFO team developing the Aboriginal Aquatic Resources and Oceans Management (AAROM) program. In many respects, the formation of the UFFCA helped to shape the design of the AAROM program itself, which to this is day is a key source of core funding for Indigenous fisheries programs across Canada.

By 2004, the UFFCA had completed its “Strategic Plan for a Watershed Based Approach to Facilitating First Nations’ Co-Management of the Anadromous Resources of the Upper Fraser Watershed”. In early 2005, the UFFCA submitted a proposal to DFO’s new AAROM program and became the first organization in Canada to sign an AAROM agreement. With AAROM funds in place, along with additional funds from the BC Capacity Initiative, the UFFCA registered as a society under the BC Society Act in March 2005.

The UFFCA has since influenced the development of many fisheries processes and programs, including DFO’s PICFI program launched in 2007, and the Big Bar Landslide tripartite governance and engagement process launched in 2019.