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Press Release       

October 6, 2022

In the Wake of Unprecedented Drought, FNLC Calls on BC and Canada to Provide Immediate Sustainable Funding

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C.) The First Nations Leadership Council is calling on the provincial and federal governments to prioritize and sustainably resource watershed restoration and protection including the immediate establishment of a Watershed Security Fund by 2023 as part of a response to the unprecedented drought.

Statement
October 4, 2022

UBCIC Stands with Loved Ones, Families, and Communities at Sisters in Spirit Vigils Across the Country

((xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C. – October 4, 2022) On October 4^th, 2022, Sisters in Spirit Vigils are being held across British Columbia to not only honour Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People and their families, but to demand immediate action for safety and justice for Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People. The first Sisters in Spirit Vigil was held in 2006 by the Native Women’s Association of Canada.

WOMEN’S ORGANIZATION SUPPORTS WOMAN SHOT BY VPD IN WOMEN’S HOSPITAL; FEMINIST GROUPS DENOUNCE VIOLENCE

Monday October 3, 2022 - (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C) –   Feminist organizations are strongly denouncing the Vancouver Police Department (VPD)’s arrest and use of a beanbag shotgun on a woman at B.C Women’s Hospital. Battered Women’s Support Services, Feminists Deliver, Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, Options for Sexual Health, Women Transforming Cities, Prince George Sexual Assault Centre, Hogan’s Alley Society and Union of BC Indian Chiefs condemn the many, overlapping failed systems that resulted in violence against this vulnerable mother.

News Release 
September 30, 2022

FNLC Calls for Provincial Statutory Holiday September 30^th for Commemoration and Healing

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C.)  On the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR), the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) is deeply concerned that the Province of British Columbia has so far failed to designate September 30^th a statutory holiday marking the profound horrors of residential schools, and the enduring needs for healing and honour of survivors, commemoration and widespread public education.

News Release 
September 23, 2022

FNLC Applauds Major Child Care Savings for Families in BC

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C.- September 23, 2022) – Today the Minister of Education and Child Care (MECC) Jennifer Whiteside, and the Minister of State for Child Care, Katrina Chen, announced that families in British Columbia with children ages zero to Kindergarten, in licensed and participating childcare facilities, will receive childcare fee reductions of up to $550.00 per month, per child, by December 1^st, 2022. 

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News Release
September 22, 2022

Human Rights Tribunal Rejects Attempt to Derail UBCIC’s Challenge to Liver Transplant Discrimination

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C. – September 22, 2022) The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal (BCHRT) has rejected an attempt by BC health authorities to dismiss UBCIC’s representative complaint against discriminatory access to liver transplants for Indigenous patients.  The Provincial Health Services Authority, the BC Transplant Society and Vancouver Coastal Health Authority are respondents in that complaint.

News Release
September 15, 2022

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip Re-elected President of UBCIC

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C. – September 15, 2022) Grand Chief Stewart Phillip has been re-elected by acclamation to his ninth consecutive three-year term as President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), a position he has served for the past twenty-four years.

News Release 
September 14, 2022

Experts Raise Concerns with MCFD’s Sweeping Funding and Framework Shifts for Children and Youth with Disabilities; Instead, Need Co-Developed, Evidence Based Model

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C.) First Nations leaders, the Representative for Children and Youth, advocacy organizations, experts, and parents spoke to media today raising concerns with Premier Horgan and the Government of British Columbia’s rollout of “family connections centres” for children and youth with disabilities, and instead called on the Province to co-develop a transformed and evidence-based framework for funding and services.