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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

News Release
December 6, 2019

UBCIC Recognizes National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

((Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ/sel̓ílwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C. – December 6, 2019) Today is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women. It has been 30 years since the tragic mass shooting at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal (December 6, 1989) that left 14 young women dead in the wake of a gender-based hate crime.

STATEMENT   

December3, 2019

First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) statement on the suicide crisis afflicting the Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation

Coast Salish Traditional Territory/Vancouver: The First Nations Leadership Council expresses our profound sorrow over the state of crisis declared by the Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation after a series of suicides and suicide attempts involving children and teens devastated the Northern Saskatchewan community. Our hearts go out to all of the families and loved ones impacted by this terrible crisis.

News Release   

November 29, 2019

FNLC Calls for Immediate Implementation of the Recommendations in the RCY’s Report “Caught in the Middle”

(Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ/sel̓ílwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, BC) The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) is deeply disturbed with the findings reported in the Representative for Children and Youth’s (RCY) most recent publication “Falling through the Cracks” which tells the story of a young man whose life and eventual death highlight the failings of the current interprovincial child welfare system, and the lack of trauma-informed practices. “Romain’s” life emphasizes how a lack of oversight in child welfare service delivery between provinces can have life-threatening and tragic consequences.