B.C. proposes suspending parts of legislation to enact UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

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B.C. Premier David Eby speaks at the legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Feb. 12.CHAD HIPOLITO/The Canadian Press

The British Columbia government wants to suspend portions of its groundbreaking legislation enacting the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Premier David Eby says.

In talks with Indigenous leaders, the Premier said the government has proposed halting for three years portions of the legislation that would commit the province to bringing all its laws into alignment with UNDRIP.

The move comes after a court ruled last December that the province’s regime for staking mineral claims was “inconsistent” with the requirements of the UNDRIP legislation.

A spokesman for the mining industry said at the time the ruling could seriously jeopardize the province’s plans to jump-start mining projects, plans crucial to the Premier’s economic development strategy.

Mr. Eby said after the ruling his government would make changes to its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act – DRIPA – to ensure governments, and not the courts, dictated the speed with which provincial laws came into alignment.