British Columbia Order in Council 911/1923: the McKenna-McBride report, as amended by Ditchburn and Clark, approved as the final settlement of the Indian reserves

The scanned order (92 pages, with the schedules of reserves), read 10 Oct 2026. The cover sheet records the council at Victoria, “The Honourable Mr Oliver in the Chair,” with “Mr Pattullo” among those present. The recommendation is the Minister of Lands’: it recites the McKenna-McBride agreement of 24 September 1912 and the Royal Commission’s report of 1916, and recommends approval of the report “with the amendments thereto as made by” W. E. Ditchburn for the Dominion and Major J. W. Clark for the Province, as a full and final adjustment of the differences between the two governments. Surveys were to be completed “not later than the 31st day of December 1926,” and “upon completion and due acceptance of such surveys, conveyance be made by the Province to the Dominion in accordance with Section 7 of the said Agreement.” It ends: “Dated this 25th day of July A.D. 1923,” signed by Pattullo over “Minister of Lands,” and “Approved this 25th day of July A.D. 1923,” signed “John Oliver,” Presiding Member of the Executive Council.

What it shows: the reserve settlement, including the “cut-offs” of some 36,000 acres taken from reserves without the consent of the bands (as the Union of BC Indian Chiefs counts them), was made final for British Columbia on Pattullo’s recommendation and signature. The design was the 1912 agreement’s; the reductions were the Commission’s of 1916 and the review of 1920-23 (Ditchburn’s entry in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography says it “mainly proposed further reductions to reserves”). See other-sjc-1927-allied-tribes, thomas-pattullo-1873 and pattullo-bloody-sunday.