A Successful 8th Okanagan Similkameen Collaborative Leadership Table Meeting, co-hosted by Summerland and snpink’tn Indian Band

The 8th Okanagan Similkameen Collaborative Leadership Table (CLT) meeting brought Syilx and local government leaders together in Summerland for a meaningful day of collaboration, reflection, and shared commitment to the future of the Okanagan and Similkameen watersheds.

As the Table continues to strengthen government-to-government relationships, this meeting co-hosted by Summerland snpink’tn – Penticton Indian Band, marked another important step toward a shared vision for protecting siwɬkʷ – water and all the life it sustains. Through thoughtful discussion and collective decision-making, members endorsed three resolutions that will help guide the CLT’s work for generations to come.

At the heart of the meeting was the endorsement of the 250-Year siwɬkʷ Responsibility Plan, a long-term vision that recognizes watershed protection requires responsibility that extends far beyond political terms and funding cycles. The Plan provides a framework for Syilx and local governments to work together, bringing Syilx knowledge and laws alongside Western science to guide decisions, restoration, and ongoing learning. With this endorsement, the Table committed to advancing the Plan through five-year action cycles, beginning with the development of an initial action plan to turn this long-term vision into meaningful steps forward.

The Table also took an important step toward understanding the future of water across the region by endorsing a resolution to advance a proposed siwɬkʷ Watershed Resilience Assessment. With climate change, consecutive drought and water scarcity, declining snowpack, and increasing water demands placing growing pressure on the watershed, a clearer picture of water availability, current use, and future needs is essential. The CLT directed its Coordinating Team and Ecosystems and Watershed Working Group to develop an outline for the proposed assessment. This work will help identify how the region can better understand and respond to the changing needs of communities, ecosystems, agriculture, and Syilx values.

A third resolution focused on advancing Syilx-informed legal tools for watershed protection. Drawing on a report prepared by the Environmental Law Centre, the Table recognized the importance of putting shared watershed responsibilities into practice through government policies, land-use planning, water conservation, restoration, and other available legal and collaborative tools. The report will serve as an important resource as CLT members continue exploring how their respective authorities and decisions can better support watershed health and the implementation of the 250-Year siwɬkʷ Responsibility Plan.

Together, these three resolutions reflect a shared understanding that protecting the watershed requires both a long-term vision and meaningful action today. They also reinforce the importance of working across governments, respecting different knowledge systems, and building solutions through relationships and shared responsibility.

As the day came to a close, the Co-Chairs presented a commemorative gift recognizing the CLT’s work to date and the time, dedication, and relationships that have helped bring this collaboration forward. The moment offered an opportunity to reflect on the progress made together and recognize the collective effort behind the Table’s ongoing work.

Looking ahead, members agreed to engage the Province of British Columbia on watershed protection, bring in external governance expertise, and adopt an update to the CLT Memorandum of Agreement. With local elections completed, we are looking forward to welcoming newly elected local government leaders to continue momentum and build new relationships.

For more information about the CLT contact the coordinating team: