Vancouver could become first Canadian city to implement UNDRIP
Posted October 19, 2022 5:30 pm.
Last Updated October 19, 2022 10:21 pm.
Vancouver is poised to potentially become the first Canadian city to bring in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
A joint task force made up of representatives from the city and members of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations has made 79 recommendations as part of a report aimed at making that a reality.
“Reconciliation isn’t…just important because something wrong happened in the past and we need to do something to atone for those wrongs. It’s also about, by working together, we are creating a mutual benefit that everybody benefit from,” said Khelsilem, an elected chairperson with the Squamish Nation.
“Where we arrived to, very organically, was that the relationship needs to start between the City of Vancouver as a government and the three local First Nations governments, because the unceded territory and title and rights starts from there, but that relationship is the foundation. From there, the City of Vancouver also has obligations as a government to engage with the Indigenous people living in this urban environment.”
The report has already been approved by the three nations on whose territory Vancouver is located and is set to go before city council next week.
The task force recommends the plan be endorsed.
The recommendations are sorted into themes: social, cultural and economic well-being; ending Indigenous-specific racism and discrimination; self-determination and inherent right of self-government; and rights and title of Indigenous Peoples.
Vancouver councillors voted unanimously in 2021 to create the task force — leading to Wednesday’s report.
The release of the report was marked with a ceremony, with attendees including outgoing Mayor Kennedy Stewart; the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, RoseAnne Archibald; and B.C. regional chief Terry Teegee.
