The Justice Centre has submitted a report to the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs, entitled “Bill C-15: Useless, dangerous, and divisive.”

Bill C-15 proposes to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. According to the Government, the purpose of this Bill is to affirm the Declaration as a universal international human rights instrument with application in Canadian law and provide a framework for the Government of Canada to put the Declaration in place. Once passed by Parliament, this legislation would require the Government of Canada to “to take all measures necessary to ensure that the laws of Canada are consistent with the Declaration.”

UNDRIP essentially provides that Indigenous people, among other things, own the land and resources, have the right to self-government and to their own distinct political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions and educational systems, and that the federal government shall foot the bill. The declaration provides in part:

Indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired…to own, use, develop and control … to redress…restitution…compensation…to have access to financial and technical assistance…to autonomy or self-government…as well as ways and means for financing their autonomous functions…to establish and control their educational systems…States shall take effective measures [to provide for all of the above].

The Justice Centre’s Report, written by a Director of the Board, law professor Bruce Pardy, sets out several grounds as to why the adoption of UNDRIP is dangerous.

Read the news release:  Federal Bill to adopt UNDRIP is useless, dangerous, and divisive

Read the Report:  Bill C:15: useless, dangerous and divisive