A northeastern B.C. MLA’s attempt to repeal provincial legislation affirming the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was voted down in the legislature.
Jordan Kealy, the member of the provincial Legislative Assembly who represents the north Peace and Fort Nelson, called for the revocation of B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, or DRIPA.
“I’ve lived in British Columbia my whole life, and I have never seen our province more divided than it is today,” said Kealy. He claimed the division is the fault of reconciliation efforts.
“Reconciliation was supposed to bring people together, Nations and non-First Nations alike,” wrote Kealy in his statement calling for the revocation. He described the act as a “wedge.”
“Let’s be honest: the reason we even talk about reconciliation is because of the actions of the government, not the people of this province,” Kealy continued.
Kealy’s bill was defeated after its first reading 48-43.
DRIPA was passed unanimously in 2019, five years before Kealy was elected. In it, there is a guideline stipulating an action plan demonstrating steps towards reconciliation must be in use. The current plan is in effect until 2027.
“The province acknowledges the widespread socio-economic and health inequities for Indigenous peoples in B.C. and across Canada. This includes the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the justice and child welfare systems, lower rates of education, and higher instances of poverty, unemployment, and homelessness. The goals and outcomes of this action plan focus on addressing the inequities experienced,” the provincial Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation wrote in their plan for DRIPA.
Kealy argued that the responsibility for historical injustices lies with the federal government, not the province.
“It was federal legislation(,) the Indian Act, that made attendance (at residential schools) compulsory. It was the federal government that sent the RCMP to enforce it. And it was the federal government that contracted churches to run those schools. Regular British Columbians did not create that system, and they did not enforce it,” he wrote.
Projects in B.C.’s action plan focus primarily on issues falling under the province’s jurisdiction – including improving access and the quality of healthcare and helping Indigenous students feel welcome in schools.
According to Peace River North (School District 60), just under 60 per cent of Indigenous students obtained their high school diploma within five years of finishing the eighth grade, compared to over 70 per cent of non-Indigenous students.
My Peace Region Now reached out to Indigenous groups and advocacy organizations in the north Peace and Fort Nelson for a comment on Kealy’s statement.
