The Mi’kmaq Rights Initiative is conducted through a series of meetings with the Province of Nova Scotia and the Government of Canada. Mi’kmaq rights and title will be protected during negotiations through legal clauses that ensure rights will not be prejudiced.

During the negotiations, we will conduct research and meet with the Mi’kmaq communities. We will research a variety of options and approaches to current Aboriginal and treaty issues, such as land claims and self-governance. And we will be coming to the Mi’kmaq constituents to seek input and direction.

With this input, we will present our recommendations to the other two parties, and then work with them to find ways to reach consensus.

We will not agree to anything until directed by the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs. They will seek to act by consensus, with the concurrence of all 13 Chiefs. The Chiefs, in turn, will make sure they have the support of their Councils and communities.

The negotiations follow this general structure:

Framework Agreement
The development of a Framework Agreement began in late 2003. This Agreement outlines the entire negotiation process: the types of things that will be negotiated, what we hope to achieve, procedures and timelines.

Interim Arrangements
In an effort to create more immediate benefits for the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia, we will attempt to resolve, at least temporarily, some issues with the other two parties. These Interim Measures or Agreements may include access to land and resources, as well as protecting Mi’kmaq interests against grants, leases and licenses to non-Aboriginals, and a self-governance structure. The Interim arrangements will be made periodically, during the time that we are working toward the Memorandum of Understanding. This is how we hope to show immediate benefits and keep the Process relevant and current.

Progress Review – 2009 (Estimated)
In order to achieve positive results and to ensure efficiency, we will conduct a review of our progress in approximately 2009. At that time, we will look at what we have accomplished, and how the negotiations are going, and determine if we should continue to pursue the Memorandum of Understanding.

Agreement in Principle or "Memorandum of Understanding"
In this stage, the three parties develop the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which outlines all the elements of a final negotiation agreement. It is essentially a draft of the Final Accord without all the details worked out. It is the result of all the discussions, plans, negotiations and decisions that have been made along the way. There may be several different MOUs to address the many issues that will be a part of the Final Accord, or just one that includes them all. This portion of the negotiations may take several years, as there are many complicated issues to resolve.

Final Agreement or "Accord" and Implementation Plans
In this stage, all the details of the MOU have been clarified, and the final Accord will be signed by representatives of all parties. Documents outlining the steps to implement the mutually-agreed upon Accord will be developed. This will likely require a ratification process involving all the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia.

Implementation
Once the Accord is in place, it is essential that the implementation of the agreement goes smoothly. At this point, we will continue to work with the other two parties to ensure that our communities are benefiting properly from the implementation.

To date:
We have agreed to have discussions – this was in the Umbrella Agreement. And now, we’ve set out some solid ideas about what we will discuss in the next phase and how we want to proceed. The Framework Agreement sets out these parameters. In the Framework Agreement, we have proposed the following:

• We will discuss and establish the beneficiaries of the Mi’kmaq treaties or other Mi’kmaq rights and title
• We will discuss what topics/issues we will cover
• We will discuss how to conduct the negotiations

Find out more about our current stage of negotiation.