B.C. to suspend Indigenous law, First Nations sources say

First Nations sources say British Columbia Premier David Eby’s government will introduce legislation to suspend parts of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act on Monday.

Independent First Nations sources tell The Canadian Press that the bill, which has been vehemently opposed by many Indigenous leaders, will seek to suspend the core elements of DRIPA for one year.

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Eby has said a recent court decision on B.C.’s mineral claims regime that cited DRIPA puts the province at serious litigation risk.

His minority government has struggled to find a course that satisfies First Nations leaders, who rejected an initial plan to amend DRIPA, then dismissed the idea to suspend the law to give the Supreme Court of Canada time to rule on an appeal. 

Eby initially said a vote on the suspension would be a confidence vote, but opposition from an Indigenous government MLA saw that idea scrapped and the legislation postponed.

Now two sources say the premier’s office has relayed to them that the suspension bill will be tabled on Monday, and it will grant cabinet the ability to extend the suspension past the one-year limit.

Eleanor Sturko recognizes need to change DRIPA

Eleanor Sturko, Independent MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale, says in an interview with 1130 NewsRadio that she recognizes the need to change DRIPA.

“In my opinion, this is work that absolutely has to get done. We have a tremendous legal liability right now because of Section 3 of the Declaration Act,” she said.

She explains that previous court rulings have “taken a lot of power of negotiation away from the government, which I think really does need to be restored.”

She criticizes Eby, though, for his plan on how he wants to implement those changes to DRIPA and has called him a “weak leader” in the past. She calls on the premier to repeal the legislation instead of only amending it.

“I continue to ask the government to not only suspend but to give us a clear path,” she said.

“We have a very serious legal liability in the courts with the way that the legislation is currently formatted, that every statute, every piece of legislation has to be construed as consistent with the Declaration Act. And it has had some issues for the province in court. And we need to be able to restore the balance in the greater public interest to be able to restore the ability for the government to negotiate government to government, nation to nation, with Indigenous Peoples in this province.”

She says that the way the premier has been dealing with this issue affects the economy, as it keeps investors on the sidelines about the potential timeline of the changes to DRIPA.

Among others, she refers to the B.C. Supreme Court decision in August 2025, granting the Cowichan Tribes the rights to nearly eight kilometres of land along the Fraser River, sparking severe uncertainty for nearly 150 private property owners.

“One of the problems that we have, certainly economically, is that investors feel hesitant when they are not sure if the goal posts are going to be changing in 12 months from now, in three years from now. And you really need to create economic certainty,” Sturko said.

Being asked if she plans to vote in favour of or against Eby’s proposal on Monday, she said it depends on what the proposal includes. Earlier, Sturko said she would decline to support a confidence vote if it had come to that.

“I don’t want to say I’m fully in support because I actually don’t know yet what the government will table this time.”

More to come at 6:30 p.m.