(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C.- October 27, 2015) A Coalition on Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls is extremely upset that the BC Information and Privacy Commissioner has found that Ministry of Transportation staff willfully deleted emails related to the Highway of Tears, a remote stretch of Highway 16 between Prince Rupert and Prince George, where many Indigenous women and girls have been murdered or disappeared.

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – October 26, 2015) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs is demanding that the BC Government take immediate action to implement the recommendations made by the Province’s Information and Privacy Commissioner in the investigative report released last week.

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – October 20, 2015) The 2015 Federal Election resulted in a Liberal majority government with 70% of the registered electors in British Columbia electing 17 Liberal, 14 NDP, 10 Conservative and 1 Green Party representatives.

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – October 9, 2015) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs is demanding that Bob Zimmer, Conservative Party candidate for the Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies, immediately withdraw his candidacy in the race to become the next MP for his riding.

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – October 7, 2015) The NDP released a strong commitment to Indigenous communities today, calling for a new era that embraces a Nation to Nation relationship.  The NDP have 22 Indigenous candidates running in the federal election, the most Indigenous candidates of any single federal party ever.

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: