DRIPA pulling province apart – Kealy proposes creating “something that fits all of BC”
NDP Refuses to Discuss Private Members Bill
“DRIPA, as implemented, is dividing people at a time when we need unity,” Peace River North MLA Jordan Kealy told the legislature on November 19 when he introduced his private members bill, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Statute Repeal Act. “It is pulling this province apart when we should be building something stronger together.”
Kealy said the NDP government has turned what should’ve been a path to unity into one of the most divisive and polarizing bills in the province’s history and in doing so, twisted the concept of reconciliation into something it wasn’t meant to be.
“Reconciliation was supposed to bring people together, Nations and non-First Nations alike,” Kealy said in a prepared statement prior to introducing the bill. “But instead, DRIPA has become a wedge. And let’s be honest: the reason we even talk about reconciliation is because of the actions of government, not the people of this province.”
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People’s Act (DRIPA), is based on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), a non-binding resolution that outlines the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples, including their rights to self-determination, culture and land.
The British Columbia government said that DRIPA was intended to improve relationships with Indigenous peoples and to advance reconciliation. It aims to recognize and affirm Indigenous rights, culture and traditional laws, especially those related to land and governance, and ensure that the laws of BC are consistent with UNDRIP.
DRIPA was passed unanimously by the legislature on November 28, 2019.