Indigenous Rights and Canadian Wrongs

British Columbia's Bill 41 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Abstract

British Columbia's Bill 41 — 2019: Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act represents the first provincial attempt at implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). While a laudable legislative achievement, the passage of Bill 41 is juxtaposed against past and present settler-colonialism in Canada. This essay explores Bill 41 by looking at Canada's historical relationship to UNDRIP, the potential for implementation at the provincial level, and the roadblocks that may lay ahead.