B.C. faces ‘complete opposition’ after telling First Nations of plan to suspend DRIPA

By Canadian Press on April 2, 2026.

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s government has proposed suspending its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, according to two sources in a meeting between Premier David Eby and First Nations leaders.

One of the sources says a three-year suspension of the legislation has been proposed, while the other didn’t give a time frame.

Eby said on Wednesday it was “non-negotiable” that the legislation designed to reflect the United Nations Declaration on the Rights on Indigenous Peoples would be changed.

DRIPA has been cited by First Nations involved in two landmark court victories last year that sparked concern about implications for private land ownership and the province’s mining rules.

One of the sources tells The Canadian Press that the proposal “effectively places every section of DRIPA” that the government wanted to replace under suspension for three years, and that changes to the legislation would be made later.

The source says the plan was to give time for the Supreme Court of Canada to weigh in, while the second source who confirmed the suspension proposal says there was “complete opposition” from First Nations at the meeting.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2026.

The Canadian Press