Premier David Eby has offered a concession to First Nations leaders on changes to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), proposing a three-year suspension of parts of the law until an appeal of a related court case plays out.
“We’ve taken the feedback on our first proposal,” Eby said. “We pulled that back and brought forward a second proposal.”
Eby presented the plan to First Nations leaders in a video call on Thursday (April 2) morning.
First Nations leaders say they are still analyzing the proposal, but initial reactions were unsupportive. Many in the meeting rejected the proposal outright, according to people in attendance who spoke to Black Press Media on the condition of anonymity.
This was the latest in several meetings between provincial officials and Indigenous leaders, who, for the most part, have called for the B.C. government to halt any efforts to amend DRIPA or the related Interpretation Act.
DRIPA is a 2019 B.C. law that formally commits the province to aligning its laws with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). This foundational document affirms the right to self-determination for Indigenous peoples worldwide.
The 2021 Interpretation Act takes this a step further by codifying that “Every act and regulation must be construed as being consistent with the declaration.”
Robert Phillips, the political executive for First Nations Summit, told Black Press that First Nations leaders are frustrated with the lack of meaningful consultation and what they have heard from the premier so far.
He said First Nations leaders are still discussing how to respond to the latest offer.
“It took us decades to get UNDRIP and then DRIPA,” he said. “We cannot do a disservice to those who worked on it so long to amend or even suspend.”
The province’s efforts to amend these laws follow a B.C. Court of Appeal decision that invalidated part of the Mineral Tenure Act because it failed to align with UNDRIP. Eby has said he wants to eliminate “legal liability” facing the province because of this decision by rewriting the law to clarify that aligning laws with UNDRIP is the government’s job, not the court’s.
Despite having drafted the laws as attorney general under former premier John Horgan, Eby says this is not how they were intended to be used.
Phillips disagrees with the government’s interpretation of the court decision.
“The province’s response is entirely political and highly misdirected,” he said.
The first proposal from Eby, presented to First Nations on March 23, was to amend sections of DRIPA and repeal a section of the Interpretation Act. This was met with staunch opposition from many of B.C.’s most prominent Indigenous leaders.
This latest proposal seeks middle ground but does not back away from Eby’s intention to make sure DRIPA and the Interpretation Act don’t enable the courts to invalidate other B.C. laws.
The suspension plan would allow the province time to appeal the Mineral Tenure Act decision to the Supreme Court of Canada — as long as that process can be completed within three years. Eby said the government would continue to work to align the province’s laws with UNDRIP in the meantime.
“We have to take action to protect the province from unlimited legal liability created by the Court of Appeal decision,” Eby said. He added that he is still open to feedback on this latest plan.
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, who did not attend the meeting but was briefed on it, said he remains “vehemently opposed” to any amendments to DRIPA. He called the latest proposal “disingenuous.”
“It’s amazing the solidarity that has developed and strengthened throughout the province within the ranks of First Nations leadership in rejecting Premier Eby’s asinine notions of amending DRIPA,” he said.
The political consequences of this are still uncertain. Eby said he planned to make the eventual DRIPA suspension vote a confidence motion, meaning his government could fall if it is rejected. The NDP currently holds a one-vote majority.
Green Party House Leader Rob Botterell said on Thursday that he would not support this or any other amendments weakening DRIPA if First Nations also oppose them.
In that case, he said, “We’ll be voting in favour of non-confidence.”
Interim B.C. Conservative Leader Trevor Halford also says his party will not support this. He wants full repeal of DRIPA instead.
“It’s not just a matter of the confidence vote in this house,” Halford said. “It’s about the confidence British Columbians have in this government. And it is sinking by the day.”
Eby pledged to introduce a bill to make DRIPA changes before the end of the spring legislative session, which goes until May 28.