tkwəɬniwt (Westbank, BC), Syilx Okanagan Nation Territory: The Syilx Okanagan Nation (Nation) is calling on Premier David Eby and the Province of British Columbia to correct the record on what it has heard from First Nations regarding its proposed unilateral suspension of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) and section 8.1(3) of the Interpretation Act (Proposed Suspension). DRIPA was unanimously passed by the Legislature in 2019 under former NDP Premier John Horgan.

Premier Eby’s recent statements suggesting that the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) has been a barrier to progress on the Proposed Suspension, and that the Province is now looking to work with Chiefs directly as a result, are deeply misleading. To-date the Province’s limited and impoverished engagement sessions on its Proposed Suspension have included Chiefs, leadership, and representatives of First Nations throughout what is now known as British Columbia (BC). The message delivered at those sessions has been clear and unanimous: First Nations reject the Proposed Suspension.

“Title holders have already directly delivered our message to the Premier, and we have been unequivocal,” said Osoyoos Indian Band Chief Clarence Louie, Chair of the Syilx Okanagan Nation Chiefs Executive Council. “The issue is not the FNLC or First Nations not being clear in our position — it is that the Premier has apparently refused to hear us.”

First Nations throughout BC, including member communities of our Nation, have invested significant time, money, and other resources into engaging with the Province on the Proposed Suspension and some have developed and proposed reasonable alternatives to it. By blaming the FNLC for the Province’s failings the Premier discounts the significant effort of First Nations and clearly demonstrates that he has not taken those efforts seriously.

“First Nations have seen this divide and conquer approach play out many times,” Chief Clarence Louie added. “But DRIPA and the Proposed Suspension implicate our basic human rights, which First Nations will never be divided on.”

“This is fundamentally about the basic human rights of our people,” said Chief Greg Gabriel of the Penticton Indian Band. “Title holders have spoken collectively and have rejected the Proposed Suspension. Respecting title holders means respecting the collective direction we have already given and not dismissing that direction by blaming others.”

Our Nation’s position on the Proposed Suspension is clear, and that position is our own: we unequivocally reject it. Our Nation again calls on the Province to abandon the Proposed Suspension and to work in consultation and cooperation with First Nations to co-develop real, ethical, common-sense solutions.

Media Contacts:

y̓ilmixʷm ki law na Clarence Louie

xaʔtus Chairman, Okanagan Nation Alliance

Mobile: 250-498-9132

y̓ilmixʷm sil-teekin Greg Gabriel

Chief Penticton Indian Band

Mobile: 250-490-7250

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