Latest News

Statement
September 15, 2023

UBCIC Celebrates the Life of Councillor Rick Gilbert, Williams Lake First Nation

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/ Vancouver, B.C. – September 15, 2023) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) sends our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and community of Wiliams Lake First Nations Councillor Rick Gilbert, who passed on September 11, 2023.

PUBLIC STATEMENT
13 September 2023

The human rights of Indigenous Peoples must be respected and upheld by all sectors and at all levels of Canadian society

Statement of the Coalition for the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples on the 16^th Anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

First Nations Leadership Council Expresses Grave Concerns Over Prince George Millennium Park Encampment Clearance

(Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ/sel̓ílwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C.) — The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) condemns the recent actions taken by the City of Prince George to clear the Millennium Park encampment, which is home to at least 30 full-time residents. The FNLC expresses deep dismay and concern for the well-being of the unhoused individuals affected by this senseless and dehumanizing decision-making.

News Release 
September 7, 2023

FNLC Statement on the Failures of MCFD in Permanency Planning Obligations to Youth in Care 

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C.) This week B.C. Ombudsperson Jay Chalke released a report titled “MISINFORMED: How the Ministry of Children and Family Development failed in its permanency planning obligations to a youth in care.”

News Release
August 31, 2023

UBCIC Stands with Families and Calls for Action on Overdose Awareness Day

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/ Vancouver, B.C. – August 31, 2023) Today, UBCIC grieves with thousands of families devastated by the overdose crisis and urges municipal, provincial, and federal governments to put aside their lethal political squabbling and take urgent, comprehensive, and coordinated action to save lives and support First Nations self-determination over their health and well-being.

News Release 
August 28, 2023

BCFNEMC and FNLC Call for Moratorium on Placer Mining in British Columbia

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C.) The BC First Nations Energy and Mining Council (BCFNEMC) and the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) urgently call on the British Columbia government to immediately impose a moratorium on placer mining claims and leases as highlighted in a recently released report prepared for the FNEMC. The report titled, “The Need for a Moratorium on Placer Mining Claims and Leases,” is critical of the outdated and inadequately regulated placer mining system, emphasizing the substantial adverse effects on the environment, First Nations’ rights and the well-being of communities.

News Release
August 28, 2023

UBCIC Calls on Meta and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Reverse Social Media News Ban

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/ Vancouver, B.C. – August 28, 2023) As wildfires rage across BC, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is joining the calls for Meta to reinstate news on its social media platforms and cease using innocent lives as a corporate strategy to evade regulation, and calling on Canada to amend Bill C-18 to ensure that news stifling cannot happen by mega corporations.

News Release: Indigenous organizations and legal aid clinic rebuke Canada for mass incarceration of Indigenous people, call for redirection of funding to Indigenous governments and organizations as part of Canada’s human rights review by the United Nations

Geneva, August 28, 2023 – Today, Dene lawyer Jennifer Duncan is in Geneva leading up to Canada’s 4^th Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Pre-Session to draw international attention to Canada’s continued mass incarceration of Indigenous people. Jennifer Duncan is voicing the calls of the BC First Nations Justice Council (BCFNJC), the BC Assembly of First Nations (BCAFN), the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) and Prisoners’ Legal Services (PLS) for an end to the mass incarceration of Indigenous people as part of the United Nations’ review of Canada’s human rights record.