BCAFN Congratulates NDP in their historic Win of the B.C. 2020 Provincial Election

Press Release

The B.C. Assembly of First Nations’ (BCAFN) Regional Chief and the Board of Directors congratulates the New Democratic Party (NDP) in securing a majority government for a second term in this history-making B.C. election. We look forward to final election results to be announced by Elections B.C. by mid-November as mail-in ballots continue to be counted. First Nations in B.C. will continue to work collaboratively with the NDP government on priority areas including, response to the pandemic, economic recovery, reconciliation, Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples implementation and climate change.

The next political term in the province will likely see dramatic changes to the social and economic sectors of our communities and the environment as we rebuild in ways that will be more flexible and responsive to future challenges. First Nations in B.C. must be a part of this planning and implementation as committed to with the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Bill 41). The journey to reconciliation and the advancement of Indigenous rights has been, and continues to be, challenging as we slowly make progress reversing more than 150 years of colonialism.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year British Columbians have witnessed and experienced serious impacts to our communities and peoples. Inequalities and deficiencies in the distribution of resources and services to our communities has continued and has increased the challenges faced by our communities during this time. BCAFN calls on Premier John Horgan and the provincial government to move to address and fill those gaps, and to work in partnership with First Nations to respond to our collective issues and priorities.

Links:
B.C. Tables Bill to Adopt United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples https://www.bcafn.ca/news/bc-tables-bill-adopt-united-nations-declaration-rights-indigenous-peoples

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