Reconciliation is not an issue for governments to address at their convenience – The Globe and Mail
Marilyn Slett is Chief of the Heiltsuk Nation.
My father is a residential school survivor. He grew up during a time when laws were used to ban our culture and deny our right to vote, and when it was illegal for an Indigenous person to hire a lawyer. As a result, Indigenous people did not have independent access to the courts to advance our land and rights claims. The Indian Act positioned Crown officials as gatekeepers to justice, and the result was predictable: When governments controlled whether disputes could even be heard, Indigenous rights issues were delayed, deflected, or ignored.
This is why I am among the many Indigenous leaders who are troubled by B.C. Premier David Eby’s recent vow to amend the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA, or Declaration Act) in the spring, in response to the B.C. Court of Appeal’s decision in Gitxaała v. British Columbia (Chief Gold Commissioner). The court found B.C. has a legal duty to co-operate with First Nations to align its laws with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Mr. Eby reacted to the decision by saying courts should not “take over” the business of reconciliation. Readers will understand the instinct behind the Premier’s message: reconciliation should live in relationships, not courtrooms.
