July 4, 2019

Dear Mr. Matiation,

The BC Specific Claims Working Group (BCSCWG) writes today to present its follow-up report Canada’s Conduct at the Specific Claims Tribunal and the Need for Reform which analyzes First Nations’ feedback on Canada’s behaviour at the Tribunal and argues that the challenges with Canada’s conduct at this body are a result of institutionalized and systemic bias that exists across specific claims processes as a whole.

July 4, 2019

Assembly of First Nations

OPEN LETTER: Capacity and Accessibility at the 2019 AFN AGA

Dear National Chief Bellegarde and Executive Committee,

The upcoming AFN’s Annual General Assembly (AGA) in the Fredericton, New Brunswick on July 23-25 presents an invaluable opportunity for discussion, dialogue, and strategic planning that the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is looking forward to participating in.

News Release 

For Immediate Release
June 20^th, 2019

FNLC DEMANDS FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE IN MCFD TREATMENT OF FIRST NATIONS CHILDREN AND YOUTH

Coast Salish Traditional Territory/Vancouver: The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) is disturbed by the findings in an Auditor General report released today, which found that the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) has failed to protect the lives and the rights of First Nations children and youth in their care.

News Release
June 18, 2019

Canada Approves TMX Despite Failing to Achieve Consent: Declaration of Climate Emergency Rings Hollow

(Traditional and unceded territories of the Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ/sel̓ílwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh)- June 18, 2019) - In spite of today’s federal cabinet approval of the controversial project, Indigenous leaders from across BC remain staunchly opposed to the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion (TMX) and have vowed that it will never get built.  The federal government was forced to redo consultation with First Nations after a unanimous Federal Court of Appeal quashed a 2016 approval “falling well below the mark” on meaningful consultation set by the Supreme Court of Canada.

MEDIA ADVISORY OF PRESS CONFERENCE: Indigenous leadership in BC will respond to Canada’s decision on TMX, joined by Mayor Kennedy Stewart

WHAT:Canada will announce their decision today regarding the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project.  Indigenous leadership in BC opposed to the pipeline expansion will hold a press conference to respond. 

FIRST NATIONS LEADERSHIP COUNCIL AND THE BC FEDERATION OF LABOUR

        JOINT NEWS RELEASE

June 10, 2019

Conservative Senators’ Filibustering Threatens the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver) The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) and the BC Federation of Labour (BCFED) are deeply frustrated by recent attempts to filibuster and delay Bill C-262, An Act to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Indigenous leaders, community groups, students rally against Trans Mountain pipeline ahead of cabinet decision

9 June 2019, Unceded Coast Salish Territory, (VANCOUVER, BC) — With little over a week left until the federal government makes its decision on the Trans Mountain pipeline and tanker project, Indigenous leaders and [add estimate number] supporters gathered in Vancouver to send a message to the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. Despite opposition from First Nations along the pipeline and tanker route, as well as the absurdity of building new fossil fuel infrastructure in a climate crisis, the federal government is expected to once again approve the pipeline.

News Release
June 3, 2019

National Inquiry into MMIWG Report Release: We Demand Immediate Action from Canada

(Algonquin Territory/Gatineau, QC – June 3, 2019) - Violence against Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people continues to devastate families and communities across Turtle Island. Today, as the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls releases its final report, the Coalition on MMIWG2S in BC calls on the federal and provincial governments to take immediate action in implementing the recommendations of this report.

May 10, 2019

Ms. Michelle Bachelet Jeria
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais Wilson
52 rue des Pâquis
CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland
Via Email: [email protected]

Open Letter: UBCIC Condemns the Reprehensible Persecution of Margot Pérez and All Forms of Violence and Intimidation Against Indigenous Peoples in El Salvador

Dear Ms. Michelle Bachelet Jeria:

The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) stands in solidarity with the Indigenous Peoples of El Salvador who share with the First Nations of Canada a history of invasion, colonization, and cultural genocide. It is in this solidarity and the commitment to justice that UBCIC writes to you regarding the shameful persecution of Margot Pérez – a persecution that has resulted in the brutal murder of her brother-in-law and the continued reign of coercion and threats against Indigenous Peoples in El Salvador.

Open Letter to Minister Carolyn Bennett
Canada’s Inaction on Late Specific Claims Assessments

May 2, 2019

Dear Minister Bennett,

We write today to present a follow-up report prepared by the BC Specific Claims Working Group (BCSCWG) on your government’s inaction on late specific claims assessments. In November 2018, the BCSCWG brought to your attention your department’s failure to meet its legislated timelines to assess specific claims and communicate effectively with Indigenous Nations. We urged you to take immediate, transparent action on the report’s recommendations and you have not done so. We reiterate our call to address the backlog of claims by implementing the recommendations put forward by the BCSCWG in both reports.