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VANCOUVER — First Nations leaders say the British Columbia New Democrat’s plans to suspend sections of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act has hurt their relationship with the government.
The First Nations Leadership Council said Premier David Eby has “broken the trust” built by his late predecessor, John Horgan, and First Nations.
The council said in a statement released Thursday that the NDP government’s plans to suspend parts of the declaration act represent a “unilateral betrayal” designed to pave the way for its repeal.
The suspension, which was announced to First Nations leaders by Eby last week, is “an abandonment of the province’s commitment to principled reconciliation, as well as serving to create a climate of uncertainty,” the statement said.
The scathing response came after Eby sent a letter to Indigenous leaders on Wednesday, saying he regrets not having more time in the legislative calendar to talk about the government’s plans to suspend sections of the act, known as DRIPA.
Proposed amendments from a confidential document sent to some First Nations leaders in B.C. and viewed by The Canadian Press said the government wants to change the wording of the “Purpose of the Act” section.
DRIPA is based on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and was passed unanimously in the provincial legislature in 2019.
The section’s current wording says it is “to affirm the application of the declaration to the laws of British Columbia.”
But the proposed changes say the government will provide for the ongoing processes, working in consultation with the Indigenous Peoples in B.C. toward aligning laws with the declaration.
Judith Sayers, president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, said in an interview on Thursday that Eby has created mistrust and contributed to a “rift” between his government and First Nations.
“It casts a shadow over the work that we’ve been trying to do and any of the initiatives between First Nations and B.C. All of that could come to a halt and then at the end relations would be even worse,” she said.
In its statement, the leadership council said DRIPA’s suspension had been “falsely framed” by Eby as “a compromise and an accommodation,” but the outcome is the same as amending the legislation, which First Nations oppose.
The council said the proposed pause “kicks implementation” of the UN declaration “down the path for a new government to address.”
No one from the B.C. government was available to comment Thursday on the council’s statement.
Eby has said that the government faces “very serious litigation risk” from a December court decision known as the Gitxaala ruling, that says DRIPA should be “properly interpreted” to incorporate the UN declaration into B.C. laws “with immediate legal effect.”
In Eby’s letter, obtained by The Canadian Press, he tries to explain the predicament his government is in over DRIPA, saying the suspension of parts of the act is necessary because the recent B.C. Appeal Court ruling on mining rules creates an “untenable degree of legal uncertainty.”
Eby said the ruling means every provincial law can be challenged for being inconsistent with the UN declaration.
The premier said the suspension of parts of the act “avoids permanent changes” to the legislation and “preserves the space” for the Supreme Court of Canada to provide clarity about the mining rules decision before any other changes are considered.
Robert Phillips of the First Nations Summit says in the council’s statement that the “suspension is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
“It is presented as a compromise, but it achieves all the same goals of gutting the Declaration Act in the short term, while the NDP pursues an appeal in court to undermine the Declaration Act in the long term,” he said.
“B.C. First Nations know this is a false offer and we cannot accept it.”
Sayers said First Nations have made it clear to Eby that they don’t want to see any amendments to DRIPA, and they’re frustrated by his government’s apparent need to “fast-track” the proposed changes.
“I think we’re on a very rocky ground right now,” she said. “But mind you, First Nations are saying, ‘yeah, well, we still want to work with you. We can resolve this. Lets talk about it.'”
The legislature vote on the suspension of sections of DRIPA is one of confidence and the NDP government has a single-seat majority, with three Indigenous members.
Phillips has called on the three Indigenous members of Eby’s caucus to either stand down or vote against the pause, but Eby says he has the votes to pass the legislation.
Eby said on Wednesday that all his caucus members recognize the importance of the work for the future of the economy.
The premier’s letter said the court decision shifts the process from one where government and nations work collaboratively to one “driven by costly, time-consuming litigation, and it introduces an untenable degree of legal uncertainly.”
“We are already seeing unintended consequences as a result,” he said, noting that multiple litigations have already been filed that ask the courts to align their legal claims with the UN declaration.
“We made these concerns clear when the decision was released in December and we have been engaging with First Nations leaders on a possible approach going forward,” the letter says.
Eby says in the letter the suspension doesn’t make the changes to the legislation permanent, and that it is time-limited, automatically expires after a set maximum period and can be ended at any time.
“What I can commit to you to is that this legislation is not the end of our conversation — it is a pause designed to protect the space for a better one,” the letter says.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 9, 2026.
Wolfgang Depner and Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press
