UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples seen as threat to First Nations relations

WESTERN PRODUCER — Ken Coates has spent much of the last 40 years thinking about and writing about Indigenous issues in Canada.

The author, former University of Saskatchewan professor and senior policy fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute is worried about the state of relations between First Nations people and other Canadians.

“I’m getting very nervous about it. We were inching closer to a real partnership with Indigenous folks and now we’re screeching backwards.”

The situation is getting worse, and legislation known as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is partially to blame, he said.

Both Ottawa and British Columbia have UNDRIP laws on their books.

UNDRIP is a United Nations document with 46 articles on the rights of Indigenous people.

The federal government passed UNDRIP legislation in 2021. As part of the act, the government must have an action plan to achieve the goals of the declaration. Canada is the only country in the world to formally recognize UNDRIP in law.

Coates, who has received awards for building better relations between First Nations people and the rest of society, wants Indigenous people to succeed, but he’s highly skeptical about UNDRIP.

“I’m a huge supporter of Aboriginal rights and justice and fairness… it’s overdue,” said Coates, an historian and a faculty member at Yukon University in Whitehorse.

“(But) I’m not a fan of the UNDRIP Act…. It really goes back to Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau, where he very unthinkingly made a commitment to UNDRIP…. Sometimes I wonder if he read the whole thing.”

UNDRIP as obligation

UNDRIP includes some gigantic promises — or commitments — including the concept of aligning all Canadian laws with UNDRIP principles.

Some UNDRIP articles, such as No. 26, could override existing treaties with First Nations people.

It says:

Indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired.
States shall give legal recognition and protection to these lands, territories and resources.

The wording in the United Nations document is idealistic, kind of like a mission statement for an organization, and Coates said that’s one of the fundamental problems with UNDRIP.

Many politicians assumed UNDRIP was something to aspire to — a lofty goal, but not really feasible.

“In a perfect world, this is where we would be,” Coates said.

“There’s no government in the country, no government in the world, that could afford to implement UNDRIP.”

First Nations in Canada say the government must implement UNDRIP, fully and completely.

“These are legal obligations that Canada has committed in the most unqualified way to realizing in policy (and) legislation,” Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said in a release.

Dwight Newman, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan and Canada Research Chair in rights, communities and constitutional law, agrees with that point of view — UNDRIP laws in British Columbia and Ottawa have legal teeth.

“Those passing it might of thought it was symbolic, but it’s going to be a real thing,” Newman said.

‘Screeching backwards’

The legal details of UNDRIP legislation and how the courts will interpret the Act are complicated and will be messy, Newman wrote in an article.

“There are very tough conversations ahead surrounding these extremely complex issues. It’s not clear that anybody is ready for them.”

What is clear is that the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) has sparked a nasty public fight in British Columbia.

Farm groups in the province, business associations, opposition politicians and many others have pushed back against the legislation. In 2024, they lobbied against changes to the B.C.’s Land Act, which would have give First Nations the power to co-manage public lands with the province.

Big picture, the UNDRIP issue is causing confusion and driving investment away from the B.C., say business leaders.

First Nations have the opposite view.

In the long run it will provide certainty and will encourage investment in B.C. and across the country.

“Canadians need to understand that implementing (UNDRIP) will create the conditions for strong, self-determining First Nations and a stronger economy for the entire country,” said Woodhouse Nepinak.

The debate over the benefits versus the risks of UNDRIP will continue, likely for years.

Coates is worried about the tone of the conversation.

It has sparked a public backlash in B.C., and that anger could spread to other parts of Canada.

It is increasing tensions, on the ground, between miners and ranchers and First Nations people.

“What worries me is these things are starting to snowball and quite dramatically. They certainly are in British Columbia,” Coates said.

The situation is not about Indigenous rights “running amok,” he added.

Governments have created this tension by passing “unthoughtful” legislation that threatens healthy relationships and progress.

“When those things happen, it’s not a failure of the people on the ground. It’s a failure of governments above them.”

The Western Producer contacted the Assembly of First Nations and the Indian Resource Council-Canada for this story, but they didn’t respond by press time.

About the author

Robert Arnason

Reporter

Robert Arnason is a reporter with The Western Producer and Glacier Farm Media. Since 2008, he has authored nearly 5,000 articles on anything and everything related to Canadian agriculture. He didn’t grow up on a farm, but Robert spent hundreds of days on his uncle’s cattle and grain farm in Manitoba. Robert started his journalism career in Winnipeg as a freelancer, then worked as a reporter and editor at newspapers in Nipawin, Saskatchewan and Fernie, BC. Robert has a degree in civil engineering from the University of Manitoba and a diploma in LSJF – Long Suffering Jets’ Fan.