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Established in 2007, the purpose and mandate of the Joint Working Group on First Nations Heritage Conservation (JWGFNHC) is to identify First Nations’ issues and concerns, develop options and make recommendations to: (1) enable a meaningful role for First Nations in provincial heritage conservation and (2) improve the provincial protection and conservation of First Nations burial sites, sacred sites and heritage sites in the spirit of the New Relationship and the Transformative Change Accord.

(Treaty 8 Territory/Rocky Mountain Fort Camp, B.C. – January 12, 2016)  The historic Rocky Mountain Fort Camp in the Peace Valley, populated by Treaty 8 Stewards of the Land and local landowners opposing BC Hydro’s Site C dam, received a high profile visit today from Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, and well known environmentalist David Suzuki, who have joined together in their support of Treaty 8 First Nations opposition to the proposed Site C.

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C.- January 8th, 2016) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is denouncing BC Hydro's deliberately provocative and reckless attempts at fast tracking construction on the proposed Site C project despite the legal uncertainty of the project moving forward.  

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. - January 07, 2016) A recently released study, published in Virology Journal, reports evidence that the virus most feared by the international salmon farming industry is now present in our wild fish in British Columbia, Canada.  

Dear Minister Bennett:

We write to follow up on our November 25, 2015 letter asking you to communicate your government’s intentions regarding an immediate restoration of specific claims research funding to claims research units (CRUs) and First Nations.

December 17, 2015

OPEN LETTER TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU

Re: Fixing the Broken Review Process for Tar Sands Pipelines

Kindly accept our sincere congratulations on your election victory. There are real opportunities now for the federal government to finally recognize First Nations’ rightful place at the core of Canada’s past and its future. One such opportunity is the critical roadmap provided in the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). We are pleased that your Government is committed to implement all 94 Calls to Action.

Dear Premier Clark and Minister Cadieux:

Two reports were released this week that touch on the lives of Aboriginal children and youth. One was written by a Justice and will transform Canada's relationship with Aboriginal peoples. The other by a government insider, flippantly dismisses the value of reports written by Justices, and similarly dismisses Aboriginal peoples, taking as its incomprehensible premise that kids will die, and that this is just the collateral damage we should expect in a system that the Government has starved and ignored.

Dear Premier Clark,

Mr. Plecas has written a report called Decision Time as a special independent advisor to you and the Minister for Children and Families. Mr. Plecas was originally hired to review the J.P. case but his mandate was expanded to include an “interim report on the comparative analysis of applicable legislation, policy, standards and practice and recommendations for the improvement of Ministry, and other, systemic processes”.