Ep. 280: Does UNDRIP truly serve First Nations' best interests?
Guest: Ellis Ross, MLA Skeena
On November 26, 2019 ,the government of the Province of British Columbia introduced legislation aimed at adopting the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP).
The stated purpose is to ensure that all laws in BC affirm the rights of indigenous peoples.
When introduced, it was celebrated on both sides of the house as a significant step forward. Bill 41 - 2019 passed unanimously with a caveat, that being concerns voiced in the house by Ellis Ross, the Liberal MLA for Skeena and a former Chief Councillor for the Haisla First Nations.
In the House, Ross questioned the meaning of the declaration’s guarantee of “free, prior and informed consent” to First Nations over land and resource development within their traditional territories and the need to introduce the legislation.
Ross asked, “If there are two parties at the table (First Nations and the Crown), and the First Nation doesn’t agree, what happens?... Does the Crown still go ahead and make a decision based on the interests of BC as a whole? Or do they just withhold their decision? Making no decision is still a decision.” Ross went on to ask, “Isn’t that a form of veto?”
We invited Mr. Ross to join us for a Conversation That Matters about UNDRIP, what it means, its implications and the path forward. This is the first in a series of more than 10 conversations that we recorded at the “Finding a Path to Shared Prosperity Conference” in mid-January that you can find on the Conversations That Matter YouTube channel.
