British Columbia’s government wants to suspend some sections of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA).
Premier David Eby said it comes after negative feedback from First Nations leaders about B.C.’s proposed amendments to DRIPA.
Eby held a nearly two-hour virtual meeting Thursday morning with First Nations leaders to present the updated proposal and hear feedback.
“We’ve brought forward a proposal of a temporary pause, and we hope that is less offensive to Indigenous leadership,” Eby told reporters.
Eby said his government would introduce legislation to suspend parts of DRIPA for up to three years. He said the vote would be a confidence motion, meaning a failure could trigger an election. He said his NDP caucus is united on the issue and dismissed concerns his government could fall if some members choose to vote against it.
B.C. adopted DRIPA in 2019 as a framework for reconciliation. The province has said changes to the landmark law are needed to prevent potential future litigation following a pair of 2025 court cases.
Last August, the B.C. Supreme Court declared the Quw’utsun (Cowichan) First Nation has title to part of Richmond. The B.C. government vowed to appeal the ruling, saying it could have significant unintended consequences for fee simple private property rights. First Nations leaders have said the case is not about seizing private property.
A B.C. Court of Appeal ruling last December in favour of the Gitxaała Nation found the province’s mineral tenure system is not compatible with the legislation. It said that courts can decide whether a law is inconsistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), potentially opening the door to more lawsuits against the province.
Eby has previously described both rulings as “overreaching,” and said DRIPA needs to be amended to better reflect its original intent as a pathway for reconciliation outside the courts.
He said as recently as Wednesday that amendments were coming during the spring session.
But Eby told reporters Thursday that, rather than a permanent amendment, the province is suggesting a suspension of certain sections of DRIPA while it seeks input from the Supreme Court of Canada on the rulings.
The government hasn’t said which sections of the legislation would be paused.
“The very specific sections that we are proposing to put a temporary pause on relate directly to the Gitxaała decision,” said Eby.
He said the suspension wouldn’t include Sections 6 and 7 of the Act, which allow for agreements on shared decision-making authority on things like child welfare and major mining projects.
The B.C. Conservatives reiterated their call for DRIPA to be repealed entirely.
“[It] should appear clear to all British Columbians that David Eby has hit the panic button here, in a big way,” said interim leader Trevor Halford.
He said the move just creates more uncertainty for the province.
First Nations Summit political executive Robert Phillips said some leaders in Thursday’s meeting were positive about the updated proposal from the province, but he said most were frustrated and upset.
Phillips said he and other leaders are opposed to any changes to DRIPA.
He said many First Nations will be taking the time to analyze the discuss the latest proposal, but expressed concerns about the rushed timeline for consultations.
“There hasn’t been meaningful consultation. There’s no free, prior and informed consent,” he said.
“No matter if it’s an whether it’s a suspension, no matter if it’s an amendment and especially if it’s an abolishment, as the B.C. Conservatives are saying, it’s more than just two steps back. It’s almost 10 steps back,” said Phillips.
“You can’t suspend aboriginal rights and title,” he added. “It’s a fact. We’ve been here for thousands of years.”
