ARTICLE · 31 JANUARY 2022

Recent Steps Toward Reconciliation Of Indigenous Identity And Rights Within BC Laws

Miller Titerle + Company

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Late last year the BC Government introduced two important changes to British Columbia's laws: 1) amending the Human Rights Code to specifically list "Indigenous identity"

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Miller Titerle Company LLP

Tamara Napoleon

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Late last year the BC Government introduced two important changes to British Columbia's laws: 1) amending the Human Rights Code to specifically list "Indigenous identity" as a protected ground against discriminatory conduct; and 2) amending the Interpretation Act to make it clear that all BC laws uphold and do not diminish the rights of Indigenous people that are protected under section 35 of the Canadian Constitution.

Previous to the updates, Indigenous identity was interpreted to fall within the existing grounds of "race, colour, ancestry, place of origin" and "religion" under the Human Rights Code, as BC's Human Rights Commissioner put it in her statement regarding the changes:

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