Agreements under Negotiation

This section provides links to Agreements-in-Principle, Framework Agreements and Memorandum of Understanding which relate to comprehensive land claim and self-government agreements. Final agreements can be found in the Final Agreements section.

Framework Agreement:
At this first stage of negotiation, the groups involved agree on issues to be discussed, how they will be discussed, and on deadlines for reaching an Agreement-in-Principle.

Agreement-in-Principle:
The Agreement-in-Principle (AIP) is the second stage in the negotiation process. This is the stage during which the parties negotiate the issues set out in the Framework Agreement. Reaching an Agreement-in-Principle, commonly called an AIP, often takes longer than any other stage in the negotiation process as parties address and attempt to resolve the broad range of subject matters set out in the Framework Agreement. The AIP generally contains all of the major elements of the Final Agreement. The AIP is not legally enforceable.

Memorandum of Understanding:
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is a formal document that affirms the commitment of the parties to an undertaking. While an MOU sets out the general principles of the undertaking, it is not a detailed agreement.