The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations is calling on the United Nations to condemn the "regressive" attempt by B.C. Premier David Eby's government to amend or suspend parts a landmark Indigenous rights law.
That law, based on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, has come under fire from Eby's government after it was cited in a court ruling against the province.
Eby has said that a December court ruling meant that the DRIPA law put the province at significant legal risk.
After changing his position on suspending or amending parts of the law multiple times over the past month, Eby said Monday he will work with First Nations to come up with a solution.
National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak told the United Nations permanent forum on Indigenous issues today that the rights of First Nations are protected by international human rights law and cannot be suspended, amended or paused by any government.
She is asking for the UN's "support and condemnation of British Columbia's regressive decisions."
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
