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News Release 

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

FIRST NATIONS LEADERSHIP COUNCIL WELCOMES THE COMING INTO FORCE OF AN ACT RESPECTING FIRST NATIONS, INUIT AND MÉTIS CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES

Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ/sel̓ílwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Territories/Vancouver: 

The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) is pleased with the announcement today that will see the full bringing into force of Bill C-92, An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families on January 1^st, 2020. The coming into force of this Act recognizes the inherent jurisdiction over children and families that First Nations have never given up, and a long overdue change that First Nations in British Columbia have been waiting for to address the crisis that exists in child welfare for First Nations children and families.

News Release
September 6th, 2019

First Nations Leadership Council applauds landmark CHRT ruling for compensation for First Nations children and families who were unfairly discriminated against in child welfare system

Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ/sel̓ílwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Territories/Vancouver:

The First Nations Leadership Council applauds today’s ruling by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) ordering compensation for First Nations children and youth removed from their homes by the child welfare system, and the parents and grandparents affected, including in cases where children were denied essential medical and other services. The First Nations Leadership Council views this as a major victory for human rights that must be respected by the Government of Canada, and will have a major impact in BC.

News Release

September 5, 2019

Recognition of Rights Policy for Treaty Negotiations in BC is Fundamentally Flawed

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – September 5, 2019) Today, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) was disappointed to learn that BC, Canada, and First Nation Chief Negotiators in the BC Treaty Commission (BCTC) Process have finalized their Recognition and Reconciliation of Rights Policy for Treaty Negotiations in BC (the “Policy”) despite the serious infringements of human rights that it poses.

News Release
August 19, 2019

143 Years of Sex-Based Discrimination Through the Indian Act Finally Comes to an End After Decades of Advocacy

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – August 19, 2019) For over 143 years the status and registration provisions of the Indian Act have been wielded as a colonial tool of assimilation to undermine the cultural integrity and legal status of Indigenous peoples. For decades First Nations women and their descendants have had to fight a long and winding battle to dismantle the sex-based discrimination that has been perpetuated by these provisions.

Opposition to Imperial Metals’ Proposed Mining Permit near Manning Provincial Park Grows

BC Businesses and conservation and recreation organizations join international coalition of 140 opponents to proposed mining in Skagit Headwaters

VANCOUVER, B.C. - Today, an international coalition of 140 conservation recreation and wildlife groups as well as local elected officials, businesses and Tribes and First Nations continues to grow to a proposed mining permit in the Skagit Headwaters. A letter signed by 30 British Columbia organizations and local businesses was the latest evidence of opposition to Imperial Metals’ proposed mining permit near Manning and Skagit Provincial Parks in the Skagit Headwaters.

News Release
August 13, 2019

UBCIC, David Dennis and Frank Paul Society Challenge Racist Abstinence Exclusion for Liver Transplants

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – August 13, 2019) This morning, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), David Dennis and the Frank Paul Society jointly filed a formal complaint at the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. The complaint challenges the lawfulness of the Abstinence Policy that deprives persons with alcohol use disorder of eligibility for liver transplants until they have abstained from alcohol use for a period of six months.

NEWS RELEASE

Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation
First Nations Leadership Council

Nearly $200 million transferred to new First Nations revenue-sharing body

VICTORIA - This month, eligible First Nations in B.C. will start signing up to receive their share of new revenue that will support self-government and self-determination, strong, healthy communities and services that make life better for families.

August 12, 2019 

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Via Email: [email protected] 

OPEN LETTER: Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) Policy Not to Test for the Piscine Orthorevirus (PRV) Before Transferring Atlantic Salmon to the Open-Net Fish Farms (the PRV Policy) 

Dear Minister Wilkinson: 

The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) writes in support of the ‘Namgis First Nation’s position that the DFO should prohibit introductions of Atlantic salmon infected with PRV into open-net fish farms. The scientific evidence continues to show that PRV was likely introduced to British Columbia (BC) from Europe and is a foreign virus that can cause significant harm to populations of native, wild Pacific salmon.  Unfortunately, the DFO continues to ignore this risk even though it is unassailable: