VANCOUVER — BC Premier David Eby has abandoned plans to introduce legislation this spring session that would have suspended or amended key sections of the province's highly contentious and unpopular Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
Eby made the announcement Monday afternoon after leaving a New Democratic Party caucus meeting and walking into a “chaotic media scrum,” where he read a joint statement with the First Nations Leadership Council. He took a few questions before leaving as reporters continued to shout follow-ups.
During the brief appearance, Eby read a statement to reporters: “The Government and First Nations Leadership Council are committed to working together with all First Nations leaders on a path forward to discuss and consider the government’s stated legal concerns, while upholding the title and rights and human rights of First Nations.”
Eby additionally informed reporters that he believed his government had the votes to pass the suspension legislation immediately but chose not to proceed after discussions with the Council before walking away with many questions still unasked.
While Eby might have been able to avoid questions from reporters on Monday, when he walked into the Legislative Assembly, more questions awaited him.
Interim BC Conservative leader Trevor Halford called it “an absolute embarrassment” in the House on Monday, directing questions through the Speaker towards both Premier David Eby and the Attorney General Nikki Sharma.
Halford noted it had been 136 days since Eby first declared DRIPA “must be amended,” quoting the premier’s past statements that “We will fix this,” that he would “go to the wall,” and as recently as three weeks ago that “We have to do it” and “We are going to get these amendments through.”
The Conservative leader further highlighted Eby’s warnings of “significant legal liabilities for the province” and “more than 20 cases before the courts that could all have significant ramifications,” accusing the premier of adding “more chaos to an already chaotic situation” and abdicating provincial responsibility in favour of co-governance.
Eby responded that the BC Court of Appeal’s decision in the Gitxaała case created legal liabilities the government must address, but the best path forward requires working in partnership with First Nations.
When questioned by the opposition on whether the government still acknowledges “significant legal liabilities,” Attorney-General Niki Sharma said the government is focused on forming “durable agreements” that protect British Columbians’ interests while bringing First Nations partners along stronger.
At one point the House broke into laughter when Sharma stated that the Eby government was "clear" in what it was "advocating for," on the suggestion it was bringing certainty to British Columbia and reconciliation.
BC Conservative MLA Scott McInnis asked the Premier what had changed in the previous 24 hours to cause By to do a complete course correction on DRIPA, describing the situation as “clear as mud” and accusing the NDP of changing its position six times in recent weeks.
The Minister of Indigenous Rights and Reconciliation Spencer Chandra Herbert responded by accusing the BC Conservatives of attempting to “extinguish” indigenous rights “like a cigarette.”
DRIPA, which requires the province to align its laws with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, has created uncertainty for resource development, land-use decisions and private property rights.
Incidentally, on the same day, Canada’s Governor General Mary Simon — the country’s first indigenous governor general — was in New York delivering a keynote at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, highlighting Canada’s “enduring commitment to reconciliation and the implementation of UNDRIP” both domestically and globally.