B.C. premier confirms First Nations DRIPA law will not be changed or suspended | Daily Hive

Premier David Eby confirms B.C. government will not change or amend First Nations DRIPA law this spring

David Eby. (Government of B.C.)

After receiving a letter from the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) over the weekend that opposed the BC NDP-led provincial government’s proposed suspension of the highly controversial Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), Premier David Eby formally announced on Monday afternoon that his administration is now cancelling any legislation during the spring legislative session relating to the First Nations reconciliation law and its interpretation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

The premier’s office issued some initial statements on Sunday shortly after receiving the letter, but the latest statement today comes as a formal announcement jointly made by both Eby and the FNLC.

At this time, Eby says his administration will not move on any changes or suspension to the DRIPA law.

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Instead, the provincial government and First Nations leaders will now move to find a solution that addresses the concerns of both sides before the next legislative session in Fall 2026. It is unclear whether any amendments and/or suspension to any parts of DRIPA would still be considered later in the year.

“The Government of B.C. will not be introducing legislation to suspend or amend DRIPA or UN Declaration-related provisions in the Interpretation Act, in the spring legislative session,” reads the short joint statement today.

“The Government and First Nations Leadership Council are committed to working together with all First Nations leaders on a path forward to discuss and consider the government’s stated legal concerns, while upholding the title and rights and human rights of First Nations.”

Furthermore, the statement continues, both parties “commit to genuine collaboration to find solutions as soon as possible, and before the fall legislative session.”

First Nations leaders have been opposed to any amendments or suspension to DRIPA, threatening that they would initiate legal action against the provincial government over any weakening of the reconciliation law that was created by the BC NDP-led government and unanimously approved by the legislature in 2019.

Premier Eby has changed his position and strategy a number of times — ever since the B.C. Court of Appeal in December 2025 issued its ruling relating to mineral rights, with the judge’s decision also setting the requirement that all B.C. laws be interpreted through the lens of DRIPA.

That set off major concerns that the provincial government was no longer the final authority, with Eby subsequently signalling that DRIPA would be amended in the Spring 2026 legislative session to address the concerns impacting economic confidence and investment attraction. He reiterated that position to amend DRIPA in January 2026, before pivoting to a proposed suspension of the problematic aspects of the reconciliation law for at least three years. He then went back-and-forth between siding with the interests of First Nations and the general public.

Furthermore, up until very recently, the vote on DRIPA in the legislature was positioned by Eby as a confidence vote that could topple the BC NDP-led government and force a snap provincial general election this spring. But this was something the premier also later reversed course on, after it became apparent that some MLAs within his party were fully prepared to join the two MLAs under the B.C. Green party to vote against his proposal.

“Three flip-flops in four months. First, Eby says they’re going to make amendments to DRIPA. Dropped that. Then, he said they would suspend sections. Dropped that too. Now, he’s not even tabling the legislation he promised would come out today,” wrote Trevor Halford, the interim leader of the Conservative Party of B.C. and the MLA for Surrey-White Rock, in a post on X today, reacting to the premier’s latest pivot.

“This is what NDP governance looks like: zero accountability, endless confusion and a Premier with no backbone. You deserve better than a government that can’t hold a position for longer than a week.”

From the outset, following the appeal court’s decision in late 2025, the B.C. Conservatives called for an urgent repeal of DRIPA to quickly restore economic uncertainty.

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