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News Release
For Immediate Release
January 16, 2020

FNLC Calls for RCMP Restraint Toward Protesters of the TransCanada Coastal Gaslink Project

((Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ/sel̓ílwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C., BC – Jan. 16, 2020) – The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) is growing increasingly alarmed that violence may erupt between the RCMP and First Nations who are peacefully protesting the TransCanada Coastal GasLink project. RCMP are gathering personnel and equipment and implementing isolation protocols on the Morice West Forest Service Road near Houston, BC, as they did last year before they raided the Unist’ot’en camp.

British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal releases “transformational” report on Indigenous human rights and access to justice

Key partners commit to an action plan to transform human rights for Indigenous Peoples

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Today, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal (BCHRT) released a report addressing serious access to justice concerns for Indigenous peoples bringing human rights complaints to the tribunal. The report, entitled Expanding our Vision: Cultural Equality and Indigenous Peoples Human Rights, makes far-reaching recommendations that, according to Human Rights Tribunal Chair, Diana Juricevic, could transform human rights in this province.

MEDIA ADVISORY OF PRESS CONFERENCE ON JANUARY 15, 2020

Legal Complaints Filed Against RCMP Exclusion Zone in Wet’suwet’en; Indigenous, Civil liberties, Human Rights & Labour Groups Condemn Exclusion Zone

Tuesday January 14, 2020
For immediate release

VANCOUVER, Coast Salish Territories – The Union of BC Indian Chiefs, BC Civil Liberties Association, British Columbia Government and Service Employees’ Union, and Professor Margot Young from the UBC Allard School of Law will be speaking at a press conference at UBCIC office, 312 Main Street, 4^th floor boardroom, on Wednesday January 15, 2020 at 1 pm regarding the RCMP Exclusion Zone established at the 27km mark on the Morrice Forest Service Road West in Wet’suwet’en territories. 

First Nations Leadership Council Condemns Ongoing and Persistent Racism in BC

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Press Release

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver) The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) is deeply concerned about the outright display of continued and persistent racism as seen in recent high-profile incidents including, but not limited to, the arrest of a First Nations Elder, Maxwell Johnson, and his 12 year old granddaughter at a Vancouver branch of the Bank of Montreal, and the troubling position Candice Servatius attempted to advance in School District 70 to disallow education about Nuu-chah-nulth culture and ceremony in the school system.

Press Release
January 8, 2020

Court’s Decision in Servatius v. Alberni School District No. 70 Upholds Reconciliation and Protects Indigenous Learning

((Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ/sel̓ílwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C. – January 8, 2020) Today the Supreme Court of British Columbia made its decision on Servatius v. Alberni School District No. 70 and ruled in favor of the Alberni School District, supported by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council (NTC) who served as intervenors. The Supreme Court concluded that the petitioner, an Evangelical Christian parent, could not establish that the demonstrations of Nuu-chah-nulth culture and spirituality at her children’s school constituted an infringement of religious freedoms. 

UBCIC Statement
January 7, 2020

Wet’suwet’en Jurisdiction and Governance Must be Upheld

((Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ/sel̓ílwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C. – January 7, 2020) On December 31, 2019, the BC Supreme Court granted an injunction against members of the Wet’suwet’en Nation who have been defending their sovereign and unceded territories from the impacts of resource extraction projects, including a proposed 670-km long liquified natural gas pipeline. The Hereditary Chiefs of all five Wet’suwet’en clans rejected the Court’s decision and issued an eviction notice.  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information contact: Blair Fitzgibbon blair@soundspeedpr.com (202) 503-6141

LIBERTY MUTUAL ADOPTS COAL POLICY IN RESPONSE TO PUBLIC PRESSURE

But policy falls short of U.S. and global peers on tar sands oil and coal

December 13, 2019 – Today, insurer Liberty Mutual announced a new policy that restricts coal insurance and investing. The announcement comes as the global climate movement is increasingly turning its focus on the insurance industry as a major driver of climate change. Increasing protests and media coverage of the industry’s central role in perpetuating the climate crisis have led to Liberty Mutual joining the growing ranks of insurers reducing their support for the fossil fuel industry. 

News Release   

December 9, 2019

FNLC Calls for Immediate State of Emergency on  Fraser River Salmon Fisheries

(Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ/sel̓ílwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, BC) - The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) calls upon the federal and provincial governments to immediately declare a state of emergency and urgently prioritize resources for the removal of the physical obstruction at the Big Bar landslide on the Fraser River within the next 60 days. Preparations must be made to provide passage for all salmon returning in the next year. The FNLC also calls on the federal government to identify and fund a working group, including representatives from impacted First Nations, to monitor the efforts and develop contingency plans in response to this salmon fisheries crisis