Modern treaties are constitutionally-protected agreements that have enabled significant successes in governance, community well-being and economic development through self-government and other means. Clarifying land and resources rights, Modern treaties create certainty of rights and establish a unique and enduring relationship between Indigenous modern treaty signatories and the federal government.

However, in many cases and more than decades after our agreements came into effect, many Indigenous modern treaty signatories are still waiting for the federal government to fully implement their agreements as they were intended.

Bill C-10 (An Act respecting the Commissioner for modern treaty Implementation) is a game changer. It would establish an independent agent of Parliament, the Commissioner for modern treaty Implementation, to provide impartial oversight and ensure that the federal government is held accountable for fulfilling its modern treaty commitments. The commissioner will help fill a long-standing accountability gap, to support the timely, consistent, and coordinated implementation of modern treaties.

When modern treaties are fully implemented and respected by the federal government, Canada prospers. Indigenous modern treaty signatories play a key role in nation building, Arctic security, and economic growth. A great example of this is the Ksi Lisims LNG Project, co-developed by the Nisga’a Nation on land that it owns under the Nisga’a Treaty. This project will create thousands of skilled careers, generate billions in capital investment, and strengthen Canada as a leader in low-emission LNG.

In fact, over 50 per cent of the major projects and transformative strategies referred to the Major Projects Office are in, or impact, land covered by modern treaties and Self-Government Agreements. This is not a coincidence, given that modern treaties cover nearly half of Canada’s lands, waters and resources, and 80 per cent of the North.

To be clear, the federal government’s challenges with treaty implementation is not new. The implementation of modern treaties requires a coordinated, whole-of-government approach to treaty obligations that span across several departments, and the federal government is simply not set up to do so. Governments of all stripes have faced these issues, and while coordination has improved to some extent, accountability and oversight has not, and modern treaty implementation remains uneven. The commissioner, through expert assessments and public reports, will provide consistent oversight of modern treaty implementation, foster long-needed accountability, promote measurable outcomes, and offer solutions for achieving full implementation.

Indigenous modern treaty signatories have been calling for an oversight mechanism that Bill C-10 will establish for more than 20 years. Bill C-10 was co-developed by Indigenous modern treaty signatories with the federal government. It is not just a government bill, but ours as well and it is fully supported by Indigenous modern treaty signatories. This was made clear before the House of Commons committee on Indigenous and northern affairs, where more than a dozen Indigenous modern treaty signatories testified with a unified and clear message: Bill C-10 will go a long way in ensuring that our treaties are fully implemented, and the bill should be passed swiftly and without any amendments.

All parliamentarians and senators – regardless of their political affiliation – have a role to play in holding the government accountable to the promises they made and ensuring our agreements are respected and implemented fully. Bill C-10 will help achieve this and is fully supported by Indigenous modern treaty signatories in its current from. As such, all parliamentarians and senators should be able to support Bill C-10, as drafted.

Unfortunately, Bill C-10 has been in the House of Commons since September 2025 and seems to be stuck at third reading. Any delay to passing Bill C-10 will delay setting up the Office of the Commissioner and the commissioner’s work to make sure these agreements are fulfilled, to the benefit of all Canadians. We urge all parliamentarians and senators to pass Bill C-10 so that our modern treaties can finally be fully honoured and implemented.

Eva Clayton is the president of the Nisga’a Nation.

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