B.C. First Nations leaders worry U.N. Indigenous rights bill may be in trouble
Credit to Author: The Canadian Press| Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2019 18:41:51 +0000
VANCOUVER — Indigenous leaders in British Columbia are urging Opposition Liberals to allow passage of a key piece of legislation for a new relationship between the province and First Nations.
The First Nations Leadership Council says the bill entitled Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act appears stalled in committee by continued Liberal questions and could expire when the sitting ends on Thursday.
The council — which includes executives from the First Nations Summit, Assembly of First Nations and Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs — says the bill has been at the committee stage since Oct. 30 and has been reviewed for more than 20 hours.
A statement from the council says some Opposition politicians are analyzing individual articles of the declaration instead of asking questions about its overall human rights intent.
The council hopes the bill can move to third reading, be passed in the legislature and receive royal assent before the house rises later this week.
B.C. is the first jurisdiction in Canada to begin enshrining the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“There is significant concern that the approach being taken at committee is running out the clock and that the bill will die on the order paper,” says the statement from the First Nations council.