Riley Robert Saunders Sentenced to 5 Years for Defrauding Vulnerable, Primarily First Nations, Youth
News Release
July 27, 2022
Riley Robert Saunders Sentenced to 5 Years for Defrauding Vulnerable, Primarily First Nations, Youth
(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C.) The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) takes no comfort in the sentencing of former Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) employee Robert Riley Saunders who stole, lied, and manipulated high-risk First Nations children and youth out of their funds for survival while under his care.
Read moreWilliams Lake First Nation and UBCIC Call for Public Inquiry into Role of RCMP in First Nation Father’s Death
News Release
July 19, 2022
Williams Lake First Nation and UBCIC Call for Public Inquiry into Role of RCMP in First Nation Father’s Death
(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/ Vancouver, B.C. – July 19, 2022) On Sunday July 10th, 2022, a Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN) father of four died after a distress call was made by his family to the police. WLFN and the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) are demanding an independent investigation and public inquiry into the handling of the RCMP response to the distress call that resulted in an Indigenous man’s death.
Read moreUBCIC Remembers Elder Kat Zu’comulwat Norris, Lifelong Champion for Indigenous Peoples
Statement
July 12, 2022
UBCIC Remembers Elder Kat Zu’comulwat Norris, Lifelong Champion for Indigenous Peoples
((Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C. – July 12, 2022) With fond memories and heavy hearts the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) marks the passing of Elder Kat Zu’comulwat Norris of Lyackson First Nation, and honours her legacy of advocacy for Indigenous Rights.
Read moreOpen Letter: UBCIC Chiefs Council Calls for Protection of Pacific Wild Salmon Habitat
July 12, 2022
Open Letter: UBCIC Chiefs Council Calls for Protection of Pacific Wild Salmon Habitat
Dear Minister Joyce Murray and Minister Josie Osborne,
In BC the current state of wild salmon and wild salmon habitat is in absolute crisis. The viability of pacific wild salmon stocks and their full life-cycle habitat in British Columbia are increasingly degraded from the confluence of climate change impacts, ineffective fisheries conservation, pollution and habitat destruction from industrial natural resource exploitation and salmon aquaculture. Wild salmon runs in British Columbia, many of which have been identified as threatened, endangered and species of special concern, rely on the health and ecological integrity of their habitat across their seasonal migrations and lifecycles.
Read moreUBCIC Welcomes Announcement that Canada is Phasing Out Fish Farms in Discovery Islands
News Release
June 22, 2022
UBCIC Welcomes Announcement that Canada is Phasing Out Fish Farms in Discovery Islands
(Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/ Vancouver, B.C. – June 22, 2022) Today, Federal Minister Joyce Murray of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard announced a transition planning process for fish farms in British Columbia. This will include consultations with First Nations Title and Rights holders and with industry. The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) welcomes this announcement and calls for this process to be a concrete step towards the complete removal of fish farms from BC oceans.
Read moreStruggles Continue on National Indigenous Peoples Day; UBCIC Calls for Increased Justice, Transparency and Ethics
Statement
June 21, 2022
Struggles Continue on National Indigenous Peoples Day; UBCIC Calls for Increased Justice, Transparency and Ethics
(Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C. – June 21, 2022) Today, on National Indigenous Peoples Day, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) reflects on a range of critical issues facing First Nations as we demand systemic change. UBCIC calls for decisive forward action on implementation of the federal United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and the provincial Declaration Act, tangible and concrete action on the MMIWG Calls for Justice, the jointly developed repatriation of internees of unmarked graves to their home communities, and substantial climate crisis investments to First Nations.
Read moreOne Year After UN Declaration Act Passed, FNLC Calls for Faster Progress and Emergency Interim Implementation Plan
News Release
June 16, 2022
One Year After UN Declaration Act Passed, FNLC Calls for Faster Progress and Emergency Interim Implementation Plan
(Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C.) The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) is concerned with a lack of progress since Canada passed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act one year ago today, which commits the federal government to the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration).
Read moreFNLC Statement on Special Interlocutor
Media Release
June 10, 2022
FNLC Statement on Special Interlocutor
((Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C.: The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) welcomes the appointment of Kimberly R. Murray, a Mohawk woman from Kanehsatà:ke, as Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools across Canada. We call on Canada to ensure that her role as Special Interlocutor is fully resourced and mandated to the highest extent and to further appoint a Special Prosecutor to bring justice to Indigenous peoples for the crimes committed by Canada and the Church, and together bring our children home.
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