The PRRO has been established as the single point of contact for administration of Referrals and for formal communications between the Province, delegates, and signatory Stó:lō First Nations. Through the SSEA, the PRRO has been mandated by signatory Stó:lō First Nations to provide administrative support and technical review of referrals. The PRRO prepares the rapid appraisal, preliminary response, and may prepare the final response for signatory Stó:lō First Nations.
The People of the River Referrals Office (PRRO) began operations in the spring of 2012. The PRRO facilitates meaningful engagement and consultation on behalf of the S’ólh Téméxw Stewardship Alliance (STSA) communities using StoloConnect, a custom designed referrals management and engagement facilitating web portal. The PRRO receives, analyzes, reports on, and tracks referral submissions from private industry, crown corporations, civic governments, regional districts, the Province of British Columbia, the Government of Canada, and any other parties interested in development within S’ólh Téméxw. The PRRO itself does not hold the indigenous rights and title necessary to provide indigenous consultation directly, but rather acts as facilitators for the STSA communities. The PRRO maintains a dedicated, ambitious staff who strive daily to make the indigenous engagement process in S’ólh Téméxw meaningful for Stó:lō communities. For more information on Stó:lō, STSA, and PRRO please refer to the “S’ólh Téméxw Stewardship Alliance Land and Resource Use Consultation and Decision-making Policy”.
