An independent MLA from British Columbia is calling out provincial leaders for having previously passed “the most racist and radical law in British Columbia’s history.”
Six years after its passing, Vancouver-Quilchena MLA Dallas Brodie is calling on B.C. Premier David Eby, B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad, and every other provincial MLA to repeal the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
“DRIPA entrenches the racial divisions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous British Columbians,” said Brodie.
She explained that the Act transfers private and public land to Indigenous bands who are not accountable to B.C. laws, voters, or their own members. She said DRIPA also gives veto powers to over 200 First Nations bands in B.C. to overrule government decisions, which leads to blocking approvals for resource development, infrastructure, and more.
Brodie was elected as a BC Conservative candidate but was later ejected from the party by Rustad after she asserted zero bodies were uncovered at the former Kamloops Residential School.
Under Section 7 of DRIPA, the province can enter into agreements requiring consent from Indigenous governing bodies before making certain statutory decisions.
Brodie said that due to DRIPA, all B.C. laws need to be rewritten to conform to Indigenous laws.
“Even though many of these laws are unwritten myths — cultural practices that are not compatible with a democratic, rules-based society,” she said.
This reflects Section 3 of DRIPA, which mandates the province to “take all measures necessary” to ensure B.C. laws are consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
She cited various examples that elevated her concerns with DRIPA. Among them were Wet’suwet’en chiefs expelling law-abiding workers from the LNG Canada pipeline project, Haida leaders demolishing homes of citizens, and provincial parks closing to non-Indigenous members of the public.
“Every British Columbian should have the same rights and the same opportunities, including Indigenous British Columbians living in poverty on reserves without Charter rights or the ability to own private property,” said Brodie.
She has launched a website, dropdripa.ca, which allows British Columbians to demand that the provincial government repeal DRIPA.
The petition’s website says that DRIPA is “divisive, destructive, anti-development, and regressive.”
Once the petition reaches 10,000 signatures, Brodie will present it to Eby and the provincial legislature to demand that the law be repealed.