Bill C-15 signed into law, paving way for framework on reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples

The bill closely aligns with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a declaration that 144 countries signed off on in 2007, but former prime minister Stephen Harper did not at the time.

One of the issues behind this bill was article 32 section 2, which states:

States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources.

It was a issue in the past because of the requirements on “free, prior, and informed consent.” The worry was that Indigenous groups could essentially any veto developments projects which was one of the reasons that Harper voted against UNDRIP.

“The example in British Columbia with Bill 41 and with BC’s own UNDRIP legislation has clearly shown that this doesn’t constitute a veto. But it does mean a much stronger voice for Indigenous People in how resources are developed and that’s so important.” said Bachrach.

The timing comes on the 25th anniversary of National Indigenous Peoples day but also at the same time the country mourns the horrific discovery in Kamloops.

“In our experience here in British Columbia, the very difficult part is gaining an action plan. Further to that, alignment of laws, quite simply is going to be a very difficult process and is going to be a huge challenge especially for a country to essentially decolonized itself.” said Terry Teegee, Regional Chief BCAFN.

A report is expected every year on what action has been taken to improve relations, which is something the NDP says is going to make sure takes place

“In the past, what we’ve seen is symbolic gestures and those aren’t always followed up by action and it’s something that I hear so frequently from Indigenous leaders that they’re tired of the symbolism and words not being backed up with real action, so we’re gonna hold the government to account.” said Bachrach.

by Oli Herrera

Bill C-15 signed into law, paving way for framework on reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples

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