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Joint Statement

UN human rights report shows that Canada is failing Indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples and human rights groups say that a new United Nations report on Canada’s human rights record should be a wake-up call for all Canadians.

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – July 23, 2015) On July 22, Treaty 8 First Nations (Doig River, Prophet River, and West Moberly First Nations) began their Federal Court legal challenge against BC Hydro’s proposed Site C hydroelectric dam and will continue making their case today.

(VANCOUVER, June 25, 2015) - The First Nations Leadership Council, composed of the executives from the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, the First Nations Summit, and the BC Assembly of First Nations, is extremely concerned that BC Hydro plans to start construction activities on Site C Dam as early as July 6, despite the fact that the court proceedings are still in motion and a decision on Site C proceeding has yet to be determined. 

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – June 25, 2015) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs is proud to congratulate Chief Shane Gottfriedson, Tk’emlups te Secwepemc, on his successful election to the position of Regional Chief of the BC Assembly of First Nations (BCAFN). BC First Nations Chiefs met today at the 12th BCAFN Annual General Meeting, and elected Chief Gottfriedson on the first ballot, with a majority of the votes cast.

Coast Salish Territory (Vancouver, BC) – Today Justice Murray Sinclair provided the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Final Report, “Honoring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future”, during the TRC closing events in Ottawa. The TRC concluded a five-year mandate to create awareness about and document the history and on-going legacy of the Indian residential school system as well as guide and inspire a process of truth, healing, and reconciliation. The First Nations Leadership Council provided the following comments on reconciliation and the closing of the TRC:

(Coast Salish Territory June 1, 2015)  The Union of BC Indian Chiefs has obtained records from an Access to Information (ATIP) request which indicate that, contrary to law, a Senior Federal Bureaucrat may have ordered the destruction of records relating to First Nations land claims.    The ATIP request pertained to records relating to Canada’s “expedited legal review process” of specific claims. This is a unilateral internal process that determines whether claims filed by a First Nation to the Federal Government will receive a comprehensive or an accelerated legal review and ultimately, whether they will be properly negotiated.

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – May 20, 2015) As of September 30, 2015 the First Nations Social Development Society (FNSDS) will no longer have funding to support essential social programs for on-reserve social assistance programs.  

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – May 14, 2015) – The BC Assembly of First Nations, First Nations Summit and Union of BC Indian Chiefs fully support the findings of the Representative for Children and Youth, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond’s report Paige’s Story: Abuse, Indifference and a Young Life Discarded.