Tsawwassen First Nation approves first urban treaty

Members of the Tsawwassen First Nation voted Wednesday to accept B.C.'s first urban treaty after years at the negotiating table.

Members voted 130-50 to accept the treaty negotiated with the federal and provincial governments.

The treaty means the First Nationwill get $40 million, a share of the Fraser River salmon catch and 372 hectares of Crown land south of Vancouver, near the mouth of the Fraser River.

Bertha Williams, an opponent of the deal who recently lost an election for band chief, saidearlier Wednesday thatthe provincial government hadn't given band members enough time to read the proposed treaty. The treaty is more than 24 chapters long.

Off the reserve, support for the deal was divided. The provincial government was a strong supporter, but local politicians have spoken against it.

Delta Mayor Lois Jackson said the city is worried about losing farmland from the Agricultural Land Reserve to the new territory.