Speaker: The Honourable Steven L. Point (OBC, Former Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia)
The Honourable Steven Point (Xwĕ lī qwĕl tĕl) is a member of the Skowkale First Nation. He was first elected Chief at age 23 in 1975. Since then, he has served as chief for a total of 15 years.
His honour holds a law degree from UBC, and has worked for the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs and the Refugee Department of the Department of Employment and Immigration. He became the director of the First Nations Legal Studies program at the UBC Faculty of Law in 1991. The University College of the Fraser Valley awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Laws degree in 2000. That year he also received a National Aboriginal Achievement Award. In 2005, Steven Point was appointed chief commissioner of the British Columbia Treaty Commission and held that position until he was named the province’s 28th lieutenant-governor (2007-2012). Since 2014, he has been re-appointed as a provincial court judge.