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John Rustad wants B.C. Indigenous rights law repealed. Chief sees that as 40-year setback
Terry Teegee, regional chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nation, says the Conservative leader is “creating enemies” with First Nations
B.C. had a rare unanimous vote in the legislature in October 2019, when members passed a law adopting the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, setting out standards including free, prior and informed consent for actions affecting them.
The law “fundamentally changed the relationship” between First Nations and the province, said Terry Teegee, regional chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations.
“Rather than having some sort of consultation, right now we’re actually talking about shared decision-making,” Teegee said in an interview.
John Rustad threw his support behind the legislation as a member of the official Opposition B.C. Liberal party, but as the B.C. Conservative leader he has since signalled his intention to repeal the law if his party wins the Oct. 19 provincial election.
Rustad said in a statement on the Conservatives’ website in February, that the UN declaration, known as UNDRIP, was “established for conditions in other countries — not Canada.”
Teegee said Rustad was “creating enemies” with First Nations.
“As we come to Sept. 30, he’s repealing, in a way, reconciliation,” Teegee said in an interview before the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. “He’s undoing a lot of the good work that many people in this province have worked toward.”
Jack’s Note: John Rustad is correct. Any idea that gaggle of kleptocratic clowns who call themselves the United Nations come up with is very bad news for any democracy. BC made a mistake following them and Israel is just the latest example warning people off. There are many others. The United Nations – socialism on steroids – a purveyer of incompetence and death to millions (think the Rwandan genocide which the UN failed to stop as one of the better examples). The BC NDP did a bad thing and it needs to be corrected.
