On November 28, 2019, the Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples Act ("DRIPA") became law. For
background on this legislation, please read our
first and
second bulletins in this series.
A Long Final Debate, But No Amendments to Bill 41
Before passing unanimously, Bill 41 was debated at length
over five days in committee. Despite the lengthy debate, the Bill
was not amended - the substantive provisions passed as tabled back
in October 2019.
With DRIPA as Law, What Can We Expect?
1. Short-Term: No Immediate Changes
A key theme that emerged from the Bill's debate is that the
government does not intend for DRIPA to give the UN's
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the
"Declaration") legal force and effect, nor is it intended
to create new rights beyond what is presently recognized in s. 35
of our Constitution.1 The Minister of Indigenous
Relations and Reconciliation reaffirmed that point "almost 20
times during the debate" by MLA
