Latest News

September 28, 2021
Secretary Deb Haaland
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington DC 20240
Via Email: c/o [email protected];
[email protected]

Open Letter: Upholding the Historic Wolf Treaty and Vacating the Trump Rule to Delist the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) from the U.S. Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA)

It is a guiding principle of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (“UBCIC”) that our Aboriginal Title and Rights are inherent – a gift and responsibility given by the Creator to our Peoples, together with the laws to carry out these responsibilities. The UBCIC’s mandate is to work towards the implementation, exercise and recognition of our inherent Title, Rights and Treaty Rights and to protect of our Lands and Waters, through the exercise, and implementation of our own laws and jurisdiction.

News Release 
September 28, 2021

JUSTICE DENIED: FIRST NATIONS LEADERSHIP COUNCIL FRUSTRATED TO HEAR CROWN NEGOTIATED SAUNDERS PLEA DEAL

(Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C.)

The First Nations Leadership Council is frustrated to learn of the plea deal struck by Robert Riley Saunders, the Kelowna man who stole thousands of dollars from vulnerable youth in government care while he worked as a social worker for the Ministry of Children and Family Development with a falsified social work degree. Saunders was arrested in December 2020 after being in hiding for several months and was charged with a total of 13 charges for fraud, theft, breach of trust and for uttering a forged document. Saunders pled guilty today to three of the thirteen total charges: breach of trust, forgery and one count of fraud.

Press Release

September 21, 2021

Unnecessary, Expensive Election was a Distraction that Sidelined Indigenous Issues and Reaped Minimal Change

((Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C. – September 21, 2021) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is disappointed but unsurprised that the most expensive federal election to date led to low voter turnout and another minority Liberal Government. The misplaced arrogance of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not result in the majority he wanted – instead an under-performance at the polls maintained the status quo and proved that voters, who are already preoccupied and burdened with the challenges of a pandemic, are dissatisfied and exhausted by unnecessary political powerplays.

Statement
September 16, 2021

Enforcement of Provincial Law and Stronger Preventative Measures Needed in Light of Coyote Cull at Stanley Park

((Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C. – September 16, 2021) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is greatly saddened and concerned by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development’s (FLNRORD) announcement of a Stanley Park-wide coyote cull and its plans to trap and kill up to 35 coyotes within the next two weeks.

13 September 2021

Open Letter to All Candidates in the Federal Election

Implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples must be a priority for Canada’s next government

MEDIA ADVISORY OF PRESS OPPORTUNITY: Spirit Fast for the Fraser: Indigenous Ceremony Concludes with Feast and Shared Vision to Cancel Trans Mountain Expansion.

WHAT: Spirit Fast for the Fraser - a traditional four day Indigenous spiritual fast - concludes Friday at noon with fasters being welcomed back and a feast for supporters and witnesses. The fast offers up sacred prayers for the waters and all life, and is being held on the banks of the Fraser River in Coquitlam at the site where the TransMountain pipeline is proposed to be drilled under the most vital water way in B.C.

Press Release
September 8, 2021

Spirit Fast for the Fraser: Indigenous Ceremony calls on Canada to cancel Trans Mountain Expansion

Unceded kʷikʷəƛ̓əm Territory (Coquitlam, BC) — Yesterday at noon, two Indigenous women began a 4-day traditional ceremonial fast on the banks of the Fraser River. Kukpi7 Judy Wilson, Chief of Neskonlith and Secretary-Treasurer of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, and Sara Cadeau, Anishinaabe Kwe, Community Organizer and Traditional Wellness Practitioner, are sitting at the site where Trans Mountain proposes to drill under the Fraser River, along with a sacred fire and a community of supporters.

September 2, 2021  

First Nations Leaders Outraged by Convicted Killer’s Appeal  on Sentence and Manslaughter Conviction for Death of Cindy Gladue  

(Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C.) The First Nations Leadership Council, Assembly of First Nations, and Alberta Assembly of First Nations are disgusted and outraged to learn of the appeal filed by convicted killer, Bradley Barton, who was found guilty of manslaughter in the 2011 violent death of Cindy Gladue, a Cree-Metis woman from Alberta. Barton filed an appeal on his conviction and sentence last week in Alberta after being sentenced to 12 ½ years for manslaughter following his second trial. The Crown has also filed an appeal on the grounds that Barton’s sentence was demonstrably unfit, having argued a sentence of 18-20 years would be more appropriate.