The vote was put off Saturday after a group of protesters used their vehicles to block access to the polling station at the community near Powell River, about 130 kilometres northwest of Vancouver.
"It is disappointing that the vote was disrupted due to these actions," Duncan said in a statement.
"Our government believes that a person's right to vote should not be denied and we hope that community members use the democratic process to express their agreement or disagreement with the proposed treaty."
Duncan's B.C. counterpart, Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Minister Mary Polak, and B.C. Treaty Commission chief commissioner Sophie Pierre, both said voting rights had been "trampled upon" by the protesters.
"This is not a first nations issue. This is about democracy," Polack said in a statement Saturday that described the vote as a "theft" of democratic rights.
"I am extremely disappointed the community was not allowed to express its wishes regarding this treaty. However, the far greater issue is that the basic right to vote, that all Canadians possess, was denied today.
"All Canadians should be concerned about this direct attack on one of our most fundamental rights."
Polak also complained that the RCMP witnessed the protest and didn't take action.
"It is deeply regrettable that this theft of democratic rights happened in plain view of authorities, who took no conclusive actions."
Pierre was also critical of the protesters.
"These Tla'amin members who blocked the doors to the polling stations claim to speak for the many," Pierre said.
"They are saying they know what is best for Tla'amin. But the decision to accept or reject the treaty is a decision that each Tla'amin member has the right to make on their own."
The treaty, which was initiated last October by the first nation and the two levels of government, has caused division within the community that says it has a population of about 1,000 people.
The deal, the subject of 18 years of negotiations, would provide 8,322 hectares of land, of which 6,405 is provincial Crown land and the rest existing reserve land, as well as $30 million over 10 years.
The Tla'amin would also get $6.9 million in economic development funds and a $250,000 "Fishing Vessel Fund."
Duncan said in his statement that Ottawa is confident the first nation's ratification committee will be able to set up another vote in the "near future."
The federal and B.C. government and first nations have had only a handful of successes over roughly two decades of negotiations since the comprehensive treaty process was launched.
A Senate committee has been told that the barriers to success include overlapping claims of B.C. first nations and an unclear and weak mandate by government negotiators.
Original Article
Source: vancouver sun
Author: PETER O'NEIL
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