Gitxaala First Nation seeks B.C. court ruling that DRIPA has legal force – Vancouver Is Awesome
October 26, 2023
BC Supreme Court found Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act is more of a ‘interpretive aid’ than a law
The Gitxaala First Nation is appealing a recent BC Supreme Court decision that found, among other things, that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) has no force in law in B.C.
The Gitxaala also want the Court of Appeal to do what the BC Supreme Court refused to do – quash several mineral claims in their traditional territories.
The Gitxaala and the Ehattesahet First Nations had gone to court over B.C.’s Mineral Tenure Act. Their main concern was that mineral claims can be granted without the consent or even knowledge of First Nations. They had asked the court for:
