B.C.’s Indigenous rights law is legally enforceable, not just government policy, rules court – Vancouver Is Awesome
December 05, 2025
In a split ruling, the B.C. Court of Appeal ruled the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) is an ‘interpretive lens’ through which B.C. laws must be viewed and measured
A panel of B.C. judges has ruled that legislation meant to shift provincial policies away from colonial laws toward a government-to-government relationship with Indigenous peoples is legally enforceable by the court.
The landmark ruling partially overturns a September 2023 B.C. Supreme Court decision that found the province’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, or DRIPA, was not justiciable.
