On Dec. 5, 2025, the B.C. Court of Appeal decided Gitxaala v. British Columbia, concluding that DRIPA converts UNDRIP from guidance into binding law that can invalidate provincial statutes. Critically, two of the three judges noted that DRIPA was written in “obligatory and imperative” language — lawmakers used mandatory terms like “must” and “shall,” not the permissive language of a consultation framework.