The Syilx Okanagan Nation acknowledges the completion of an Agreement in Principle (AIP) between Canada and the United States to modernize the Columbia River Treaty (CRT), which is a milestone in the Canada-US CRT negotiations:

Statement by the Prime Minister on an agreement-in-principle reached between Canada and the United States on the Columbia River Treaty

Canada, U.S. reach agreement-in-principle to modernize Columbia River Treaty

The Agreement-in-Principle (AIP) announced by Canada and the United States on July 11, 2024, reflects their understanding of negotiations to modernize the Columbia River Treaty (CRT) regime and their agreement-in-principle on the key elements of a Modernized Treaty as of that date.

A public document was created to describe those understandings and key elements. Additional matters may arise during the course of the continued negotiations or in the drafting of the CRT text that may result in further development of those understandings and key elements.

This document contains sections describing updates and changes that Canada and the United States have mutually determined, in principle, to incorporate into a modernized CRT. They cover flood risk management; Canadian flexibility, power coordination and transmission; compensation; power benefit sharing; ecosystem considerations; and time periods.

Since these understandings include elements not present in the existing Treaty, Canada and the United States will work together to reflect these new elements in the preamble of the Modernized Treaty. Updated elements to include are ecosystem health, Indigenous and Tribal cultural values, and adaptive management.

Read more:

Negotiations to Modernize the Columbia River Treaty Agreement-in-Principle Content Public Document

For more information, please visit: Columbia River Treaty Agreement in Principle