(Coast Salish Territory / Vancouver BC – February 11, 2016) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs congratulates the Akisq’nuk First Nation on the just resolution of its specific claim at the Specific Claims Tribunal. On February 5, 2016 the Tribunal ruled that Canada breached its legal obligation to the Akisq’nuk First Nation by failing to correct an 1887 land survey error and again in 1915 when it failed to protect additional grazing lands from alienation. Both historical events resulted in significant losses of reserve lands and according to the Tribunal Chair, Justice Harry Slade, expose a series of “missteps, an outright betrayal, and inaction” on the part of Canada during the reserve creation process in British Columbia.  

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – January 26, 2016) Today the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal issued a landmark decision confirming that First Nations children in Canada have received inequitable child welfare funding, that this discrimination must cease, and that they must receive equitable child welfare funding going forward.  163,000 First Nations children are affected by the case and the child welfare funding shortfalls on reserves and in the Yukon are 22% to 38.5%.

(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.

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C.- December 10, 2015) Earlier this week, the Canadian Government announced the launch of the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, beginning with pre-inquiry consultation. The Coalition on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls honours families and advocates who fought tirelessly for the national inquiry, and looks forward to participating in the pre-inquiry consultation and the inquiry itself. 

Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau
Prime Minister of Canada
November 23, 2015

Dear Prime Minister,

Our organizations welcome your public commitment to a renewed relationship between the federal government and Indigenous Peoples in Canada based on the rights guaranteed in Canada’s Constitution and enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We hope that this vision of cooperation and partnership will shape your government’s actions and priorities from the outset. 

Dear Minister Bennett: 

We write to follow up on our November 4, 2015 letter and briefing note regarding the fair, just and timely resolution of specific claims. In that letter we recommend taking concrete measures to demonstrate the Government of Canada’s commitment to reconciliation through resolving specific claims and to carry out this work in partnership with First Nations. The most pressing of these recommendations is the immediate restoration of specific claims research funding to claims research units (CRUs) and First Nations.

November 18, 2015

Dear Minister Bennett:

We write to respectfully urge you to address an important matter which is impeding the ability of First Nations to access information from your ministry for the purposes of filing specific claims. Specific claims deal with Canada’s failure to fulfil historical lawful obligations to honour its treaty promises to First Nations and to protect reserve lands and assets from illegal alienation and mismanagement.

UBCIC Research is the largest specific claims research association in Canada. We are funded by the federal government to undertake FREE specific claims research and legal analysis on behalf of BC First Nations, regardless of political membership with the UBCIC. All research undertaken by UBCIC Research is directed by the First Nation, with all the information gathered remaining the property of the First Nation. We are a highly experienced team of land rights research specialists that have been conducting specific claims research for throughout British Columbia for over 35 years.

In addition to land claims research, the UBCIC Research Department also pursues community outreach endeavours. We provide research skills training by planning and hosting conferences and workshops, and by developing valuable research tools and making them freely available. To this end, UBCIC Research has developed a comprehensive research manual and an online course for community-based researchers.

UBCIC Research Department is supported by the UBCIC Library and Archives, the premiere land claims research facility in British Columbia. Holding specialized research collections that focus on First Nations and BC lands issues, the Library and Archives serves all researchers working on behalf of BC First Nations. UBCIC Library and Archives materials can be located through the library catalogue, our online resources, and the UBCIC RG10 finding aid.

Please feel free to contact us for a personal orientation to our available research resources, for advice about any lands-related research problems, or to discuss a potential claim.

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