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

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 told The Canadian Press 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 told 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 said 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.

First Nations leaders have warned of legal action if Eby’s government proceeds with amending DRIPA.

More than 130 civil society organizations, including the B.C. Federation of Labour, have also called on Eby to leave the bill alone.

DRIPA is based on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which requires free, prior and informed consent from Indigenous Peoples on matters affecting their rights, lands, territories and resources.

Eby’s government proposed changes to the bill in a letter and document in late March shared with some First Nations leaders under a confidentiality agreement.

The proposed changes, seen by The Canadian Press, show the province was looking to rework the wording to promise “ongoing processes” to align “select” legislation with the bill, known as DRIPA.

The current wording of the “Purpose of the Act” section says it is “to affirm the application of the Declaration to the laws of British Columbia.”

Eby said earlier that his government was trying its best to work with chiefs across the province to address concerns about the two court decisions, which both cited DRIPA and sided with First Nations on mining and property rights.

The B.C. government has said that wasn’t the intention of the law.

One found the provincial mineral claims regime is “inconsistent” with DRIPA, and another recognized the Cowichan Tribes’ Aboriginal title on land along the Fraser River, saying titles held by Canada and the City of Richmond were “defective and invalid.”

In response to the mineral claims case, Eby has said it’s “crucial that it is British Columbians, through their elected representatives, that remain in control of this process, not the courts.”

“Too much rides on it in terms of our province’s prosperity and certainty going forward,” the premier said last month.

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

Wolfgang Depner and Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press