The federal government is keeping an eye on potential changes to B.C.’s Indigenous law after Premier Eby backed down on plans to amend or suspend parts of DRIPA earlier this week.

But Justice Canada says its own United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) law provides a lasting framework and there are currently no plans to amend it.

The B.C. government was considering amending the provincial law until earlier this week, when the premier announced he wouldn’t be introducing the legislation in the spring session. 

Instead, he released a joint statement with the First Nations Leadership Council indicating an intention to work together on a path forward for DRIPA.

The law does not create new stand-alone rights for Indigenous people, but it ensures that the standards of UNDRIP inform the interpretation of provincial laws and obligations.

It passed unanimously in 2019, but recent court rulings have led to serious political backlash, uncertainty, and legal risk for the NDP government.

In one case involving Gitxaala Nation, a lower court ruled that the province’s online mineral claims system – which allows companies to stake claims online without consulting First Nations – is “manifestly inconsistent” with UNDRIP. 

Earlier this year, B.C. asked the Supreme Court of Canada to weigh in on this ruling. But in the meantime, it contemplated suspending parts of DRIPA.

Some B.C. First Nations said that move would effectively neuter the legislation, and spoke of feeling betrayed by Eby and the provincial NDP party.

On Tuesday, National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak raised concerns about B.C.’s handling of the case before the UN forum on Indigenous Issues in New York.

Ottawa to pick a different path, for now

The federal government passed its own UNDRIP law in 2021, and a recent court decision clarified how it fits into the broader Canadian legal landscape.

Kebaowek First Nation filed a federal court challenge to quash the approval of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ nuclear waste site in Deep River.

The court ruled that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission made mistakes when assessing whether the company had met its duty to consult. 

It found the commission should have applied UNDRIP standards in its analysis of Section 35 rights, which includes a principle of free, prior and informed consent. 

That principle does not amount to a veto or a right to a particular outcome, but rather, to a right to a robust process, according to the ruling. 

Northwest Territories is developing its own legislation

The Government of the Northwest Territories passed its own UNDRIP law in 2023.

But Premier R.J. Simpson says the situation in his jurisdiction is different than that of its southern neighbour.

“We are an Indigenous territory, half of our population is Indigenous,” he said in response to a question from iPolitics. 

Simpson said it’s ultimately about governments and businesses understanding how to work with Indigenous people.

He added he has not been closely following developments in B.C., but he thinks the lesson there is that “things are going to move forward working in partnership with Indigenous people.”