Since the B.C. Supreme Court’s decision that the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) creates legally enforceable obligations for the provincial government, the NDP said it is working to find a solution that benefits all parties.
DRIPA is legislation that requires the provincial government to ensure its laws are aligned with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. DRIPA was put in place by the government of B.C. in 2019 and has faced scrutiny from Conservative MLAs who have called the legislation vague. The government is looking into the court decision to decide their next steps, said North Coast-Haida Gwaii MLA Tamara Davidson.
“The attorney general is looking at the impacts of these court decisions. I know that for the Cowichan decision that they did immediately say that they were going to appeal it and then work with the parties, particularly the private owners within Richmond that were affected by that court decision. My understanding is that the judge at the time said that no private property owners would be affected by this decision. And then once the decision came out, they were affected. So we’re really working closely with those private landowner to find a way through this.”
The government is looking at the situation and hopes to make some amendments to DRIPA, said Davidson.
“We’re still reviewing the case and looking at what amendments to DRIPA that would we need to make in the future, working with our Indigenous partners and then just trying to find a way through it to try to see which laws and what guidelines or regulations we would need to amend to really meet the needs of the court.”
