Latest News

Press Release
January 31, 2023

UBCIC Calls for Holistic, System-Wide Supports from Canada and BC as Decriminalization Begins

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C. – January 31, 2023) In response to the unprecedented, escalating overdose and drug toxicity crisis, British Columbia, with the approval of the federal government, has decriminalized small quantities of drugs for personal possession. By resolution, UBCIC recognizes that decriminalization is one of many necessary steps to address the overdose crisis, reduce drug-related harms and end the overrepresentation of First Nations people in the criminal justice system, and calls upon the governments of BC and Canada to take further action.

Statement
January 25, 2023

UBCIC Stands with Williams Lake First Nation and all Residential School Survivors amidst Results of Phase II Geophysical Investigation into St. Joseph Mission Residential School

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C. – January 25, 2023) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) shares heartfelt prayers for comfort and healing with all those impacted by the Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN) announcement detailing the results of their Phase II Geophysical Investigation into the former St. Joseph Mission Residential School, detailing 66 new reflections which display characteristics indicative of potential human burials. Phase I of the WLFN Geophysical Investigation announced 93 reflections this time last year in January 2022.

News Release
January 24, 2023

UBCIC Stands with Day Scholar Survivors and Acknowledges Major Settlement Negotiated Regarding Harms of Indian Residental Schools on Culture and Nations

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C. – January 24, 2023) the Government of Canada announced Saturday the $2.8 billion dollar settlement of a class-action lawsuit brought forward by Shíshálh and Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc Nations on behalf of Day Scholars who attended Indian Residential Schools as the band-class plaintiffs seeking reparations for the loss of language and culture. The decision to approve the settlement, which is to be administered independently of the federal government in a 20 year not-for-profit trust, remains before the court.

News Release
January 23, 2023

UBCIC Supports Call to Stop Work on Coastal GasLink Pipeline and Protect Salmon Spawning Habitat

((Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C. – January 23, 2023) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) supports Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs in their call for the federal government to issue a stop-work order on construction of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline. The pipeline construction activities are being undertaken without adequate sediment control on the Lho Kwa, jeopardizing crucial salmon spawning habitat. This follows an emerging pattern of repeated non-compliance with the project’s permit and numerous enforcement orders issued by the BC Environmental Assessment Office.

Statement
January 20, 2023

UBCIC Condemns Racist Denial of Status Cards by Business

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C. – January 20, 2023) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs is deeply concerned by news reports of signage denying the “suitability” of Certificate of Indian Status Cards, which are federally issued government ID, as identification posted at the Quarterdeck Beer and Wine Store in Port Hardy. Such policy is discriminatory, anti-reconciliation, and a clear violation of the human rights of Indigenous people.

For Immediate Release, January 10, 2023:

160+ organizations call on BC to follow through on old-growth commitments

Groups announce Feb. 25 rally at provincial legislature, issue declaration calling on the province to accelerate action for threatened forests

UNCEDED LEKWUNGEN TERRITORIES/VICTORIA – 168 organizations across British Columbia have issued a declaration called United We Stand for Old-Growth Forests, calling on Premier David Eby and his government to fulfill their commitments on old-growth. 

News Release 

December 19, 2022

FNLC Critical of the Continued Marginalization of Indigenous Peoples at COP15

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C.) As the fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity wraps up on Kanien'kehá:ka territory in Montreal, the First Nations Leadership Council recognizes the significant and outsized contributions of Indigenous peoples across the globe in protecting the biodiversity within their territories and assert that Indigenous peoples must be equal partners at any table discussing and making decisions about management of their territories.

News Release

November 23, 2022

While DFO and BC Delay, all West Coast US States Take Action and Ban Open Net-Pen Fish Farms

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C. – November 23, 2022) On November 18, 2022, Washington State joined California, Oregon, and Alaska in banning open net-pen fish farming, an act that makes BC the backwards outlier of the west coast by denying science and prioritizing the fish farm industry over the survival of wild salmon. UBCIC calls on the federal and provincial governments to take immediate action to ban open net-pens and only allow land-based closed containment farms.