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UNION OF B.C. INDIAN CHIEFS CHIEFS COUNCIL
JUNE 27TH TO 28TH, 2018
RICHMOND, B.C., XʷMƏΘKʷƏY̓ƏM (MUSQUEAM TERRITORY)

The Honourable Carolyn Bennett
Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
[email protected]

July 6, 2018

Dear Minister Bennett,

On June 28, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Joe Wild attended the UBCIC’s Chiefs Council meeting in Richmond, BC (xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm, Musqueam Territory). Mr. Wild assured the UBCIC Executive, member Chiefs, and delegates that you are committed to working towards an independent specific claims process. He also confirmed that you stressed the importance of developing an independent process to Prime Minster Trudeau at a recent “take stock” meeting, and that you strongly recommended submitting a memorandum to Cabinet in the fall seeking authority to move forward on developing this process with Indigenous Nations.

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – June 28, 2018) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is shocked and outraged that on June 27^th, 2018, 28-year-old Peter Khill, a settler living in Hamilton, Ontario, was found not guilty in the murder of Jonathan Styres, a 29-year-old man from Ohsweken, Ontario, part of the Six Nations reserve.

NEWS RELEASE

FNLC Supports Broughton Area LoU re. Fish Farms

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver – June 28, 2018) The First Nation Leadership Council (FNLC) applauds the Broughton Area Letter of Understanding (LoU), signed yesterday between the Kwikwasut’inuxw Haxwa’mis, Namgis and Mamalilikulla First Nations and BC.

June 25, 2018

OPEN LETTER: UBCIC Condemns Child Detention and Family Separation

Dear President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau,

We are writing on behalf of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC). Based in British Columbia, Canada we are an advocacy organization founded in 1969, advancing Indigenous Title and Rights and Treaty Rights on behalf of Indigenous peoples, mandated by our member Nations.

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – June 25, 2018) UBCIC condemns the report on specific claims released on National Indigenous Peoples Day by conservative think tank the Fraser Institute.

In his report, Specific Claims and the Well-Being of First Nations, author Tom Flanagan argues that the federal specific claims program should be discontinued since, he asserts, settlements result in no tangible benefits to First Nations communities. Flanagan's report characterizes specific claims as a never-ending drain on the federal budget and Canadian taxpayers, and contends that Indigenous Nations manipulate facts and exploit case law to validate their claims.  

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – June 20, 2018) The UBCIC applauds today’s announcement as an initial step on the pathway to preserve and safeguard the future of wild salmon consistent with the rights, cultural practices and economic livelihoods of many First Nations throughout BC.

OTTAWA – Today, June 13, 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Ewert v. Canada, a case challenging the use of prisoner risk assessment tests that can be culturally biased against Indigenous prisoners.

The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) and BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) co-intervened to ask the Court to require, for the first time within prison walls, that decision-makers follow the Gladue framework by taking into account the unique circumstances of Indigenous people that come into contact with the criminal justice system.