B.C. will revise DRIPA legislation to scale back court power over Indigenous rights, Eby says

B.C. Premier David Eby says his government will be amending the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) to scale back the power courts have in shaping reconciliation efforts in the province.

Speaking at the Natural Resources Forum in Prince George Tuesday night, Eby said working with First Nations governments is essential to driving investment decisions in the province.

But, he said, recent court decisions "have created real confusion about what the Declaration Act is about and what reconciliation means in practice."

"Reconciliation is the business of government-to-government relationships between the provincial government, the federal government and First Nations governments. It is not for the courts to take over," he said.

"That's why we're going to amend the Declaration Act in spring to make that intent explicit."

Eby had previously hinted at his intention to revise DRIPA in December after the B.C. Court of Appeal found the legislation is incompatible with the province's current system of granting mineral rights.

He's also been under pressure from the B.C. Conservatives to repeal the act altogether following a firestorm of controversy sparked by a B.C. Supreme Court decision this past summer awarding the Quw'utsun (Cowichan) Nation title this summer to between 300 and 325 hectares of land. Around 150 pieces of private property in Richmond, B.C., are situated on that parcel of land.

While the Quw'utsun have explicitly stated they have no intention of pursuing land owned by private owners, the case is viewed as one of the more consequential in the history of Indigenous rights and title in B.C.

Eby said his government is seeking to appeal that decision and that it would challenge any court decision that calls into question private property rights.

"People's homes and businesses are not bargaining chips," he said.

Meanwhile, B.C. Conservative critic for Indigenous relations Scott McInnis sent out two calls Tuesday for the government to repeal or reform DRIPA, claiming the NDP government has continued to cause confusion and uncertainty by signing land-use agreements with various First Nations.

"This is dividing British Columbians," McInnis said in a release sent out prior to Eby's address. "People are being left to wonder whether land access, development rights, and long-standing property expectations can change overnight, without legislation or public debate."

However, Eby pointed out Indigenous claims to land and title predates the DRIPA legislation, which was adopted by the province with unanimous support from all parties in the B.C. legislature in 2019. Indeed, it is not clear that the existence of DRIPA in any way impacted the Quw'utsun ruling as that case started prior to DRIPA being passed.

"The concept of First Nations title was not invented by this provincial law," Eby said.