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This thesis examines how residents perceived and coped with storm surge flooding in Tsawwassen, British Columbia. On February 4, 2006 the community experienced a storm surge flood that affected residents within the neighbourhoods of Beach Grove and Boundary Bay Village. This study identifies how residents perceived and coped with the flood, and what factors influenced how individuals perceived and coped. Qualitative methods were used for this study, and a total of 23 in-person interviews were completed. The findings of this research showed that how participants perceived the threat of storm surge flooding and how they coped with the flooding varied greatly. Government intervention; the influence of family, friends and neighbours; the perceived benefits of living in the area; experience; financial support; and perception of other hazards all influenced how the participants perceived and coped with the storm surge flood.

This thesis examines conflict between Tsawwassen First Nation, the Host community and Delta Council representing the Settler community. The methodology is textual research and analysis of the historic and current relationship and the impact on the conflict of Delta filing a lawsuit to prevent the first Urban Treaty in British Columbia. It is a structural analysis of probable root causes of the conflict including political, economic and social linguistic barriers to understanding. The work begins with a political and policy analysis of First Nations challenges including the competing interests, fears and the public record of the Settler community. Differing worldviews, assumptions, language, core beliefs and values contribute to the walls which prevent Settlers from seeing the Host community clearly. Reconciliation or transformation of the relationship is the goal; achievable through recognizing and honouring difference. Cross Cultural Competence between the two communities is preferred to the limitations of Interest Based Negotiations.

The purpose of this thesis is to determine the key explanatory factors that explain why some First Nations reach an agreement through the British Columbia Treaty Process, while others do not. To do this, analytical frameworks from Gabrielle Slowey and Christopher Alcantara are empirically applied to three First Nations who are (or were) negotiating agreements in the province. The findings conclude that negotiations in the Treaty Process produce different results for the same reasons that Alcantara and Slowey identify for Aboriginal groups throughout Canada. They depend on the particular circumstances of each First Nation within the current institutional structure. This structure defines the relationship between Aboriginal and state actors and provides a set of options from which the former may choose to navigate their futures. However, in addition to the determining factors that Alcantara and Slowey identify, this thesis finds that it is also imperative to take into account the desire of a First Nation to use the Treaty Process as a means to progress along its own path of self-determination.