(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – May 6, 2016)  The Union of BC Indian Chiefs is condemning the ongoing ‘corporate thuggery’ of BC Hydro, which recently filed a notice of civil claim and an application for an injunction in BC Supreme Court to stop people from camping overnight at its Vancouver office.

We are writing with respect to your correspondence from March 18, 2016 regarding “Information about the Proposed Amendments to National Energy Board Regulations for Pipeline Damage Prevention, Now Available for a 30-Day Comment Period”. On behalf of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) we are submitting this letter to clarify some potential concerns for First Nations in terms of regulations developed under the Pipeline Safety Act (“the Act”). In providing these comments, we are not in any way providing our approval of the Pipeline Safety Act or its regulations.

March 31, 2016

Dear Minister Bennett:

On February 13, 2016, you met with the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (“UBCIC”) Executive in Vancouver to initiate a working relationship and review our organization’s priorities with a view to future discussions. At that meeting you made an explicit commitment to restore funding for specific claims research and development to Claims Research Units (“CRUs”) and First Nations across Canada. In 2014, drastic funding cuts ranging from 30-60% were meted out to these organizations as part of the Harper government’s Deficit Reduction Action Plan. We stressed to you the urgency of restoring funding, and the timeliness required as INAC’s responses to annual research funding proposals submitted by CRUs and First Nations in January 2016 were expected at the end of March.

Vancouver, BC, Coast Salish Territories– In a brief released today, West Coast Environmental Law, supported by First Nations, scientists and conservation groups, is calling for Canada’s Fisheries Minister to act immediately on his mandate to “restore lost protections” for fish habitat gutted by the former Conservative government.

(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.  

(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.

Adam E. Thompson, Committee Clerk
National Security and Defence Senate Committee
Senate of Canada
Tel: 1-613-990-6160
Fax: 1-613-947-2104

RE: UBCIC OPEN LETTER REGARDING BILL C-51: ANTI-TERRORISM ACT, 2015

Dear National Security and Defence Senate Committee,

We are writing to inform you of our deep concerns regarding Bill C-51 Anti-terrorism Act, 2015. The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is an Indigenous political advocacy organization representing over 100 First Nations in British Columbia and we stand strongly in opposition to Bill C-51. The proposed Bill completely sweeps aside and fundamentally undermines our rights as Indigenous Peoples to exercise, assert and defend our inherent Aboriginal Title, Rights and Treaty Rights. Let us remind you, these inherent rights are judicially and constitutionally recognized and Bill C-51 completely disregards the Canadian Constitution Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – April 15, 2015)  Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs declared to the Chiefs and supporters currently occupying Premier Christy Clark’s constituency office in West Kelowna “WE SUPPORT YOU!”