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‘Extremely offensive’: BC premier’s plans to change Indigenous Rights law met with frustration (The Narwhal)


If the Declaration Act was a milestone for reconciliation, how could Premier David Eby’s amendments change BC’s relationship with First Nations? Here’s what you need to know 

In 2019, BC unanimously passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. It was celebrated as a major step toward working with First Nations in a better, more equal way.

But a court ruling earlier this month seems to be contributing to a change of heart for Premier David Eby. On Dec. 5, the British Columbia Court of Appeal ruled the government’s obligations under the Declaration Act are legally enforceable. Eby is now arguing judges shouldn’t be setting the province’s reconciliation agenda. And he says he is willing to change the law to make sure they can’t.

“The work we do in reconciliation is to empower people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike, not to empower the courts,” Eby told attendees at a BC Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Dec. 10. 

“Last week’s court of appeal decision invites further and endless litigation,” he added. “It is the exact opposite of the direction we need to go: less certainty, not more; more conflict, not less.”

When the legislature resumes in the spring, Eby said the government will introduce amendments to the act to make things clear ...

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