B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad says his government would emphasize economic development opportunities for Indigenous communities as the pathway to address historical injustices, but the party has opposed several government moves to improve Indigenous control over land.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Though British Columbia became the first jurisdiction in Canada to incorporate the UN declaration on Indigenous rights into provincial law, the all-party support for active reconciliation is fracturing during the provincial election campaign.
Since passing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act in 2019, the B.C. NDP government has taken concrete steps to ensure provincial laws and policies align with the United Nations resolution, UNDRIP. Ottawa also pledged to undertake the same action federally a year after B.C., over the objections of six other provinces.
But the B.C. Conservatives, which are currently tied in opinion polls with the NDP ahead of the Oct. 19 election, have said they would repeal the UNDRIP law. The party marked the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Monday by announcing what they describe as an “economic reconciliation” plan.
In a written statement, Conservative Leader John Rustad said he would replace the province’s enabling legislation on UNDRIP – which he had voted for, as part of the B.C. Liberals – with a new law that he said will recognize Indigenous rights and aspirations. The NDP’s implementation and interpretation of the 2019 law has stalled Indigenous-led development in industries such as mining, forestry, natural gas and other sectors, he said. He did not respond to requests for an interview.
As former minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation under the B.C. Liberal government, Mr. Rustad signed more than 400 one-off economic agreements with First Nations. But as Conservative Leader, he refused earlier this year to participate in an all-party apology to Indigenous peoples for racist and discriminatory actions of the Legislative Assembly in the past.
Mr. Rustad said a Conservative government would emphasize economic development opportunities for Indigenous communities as the pathway to address historical injustices. But his party has opposed several government moves to improve Indigenous control over land.
This past spring, the NDP government introduced changes to the Land Act that would have allowed joint decision-making with Indigenous communities about public land. The bill was scrapped in response to a backlash from landowners and the opposition – including the Conservatives – over the lack of public consultation.
Next, the government introduced legislation that accepted that the Haida Nation has Aboriginal title to all one million hectares of the islands of Haida Gwaii. Mr. Rustad opposed that as well, saying it sets a precedent that threatens the rights of private property owners.
Cheryl Casimer, a political executive of the First Nations Summit in B.C., said the NDP have made progress on reconciliation but that backing down on the Land Act changes was a disappointment.
“The biggest change we wanted to see happen was around the Land Act,” she said Monday in an interview, adding that the government should have had better engagement with its own constituency before introducing the bill.
Murray Rankin, the province’s Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation who is not seeking re-election, said his Land Act bill was repealed because his government failed to communicate its purpose, and that “it was misunderstood from the get-go.”
But in an interview, Mr. Rankin said he was proud of the progress achieved by the NDP government and that he is worried what will happen if the Conservatives win: “I’m very concerned about the fate of reconciliation. Mr. Rustad’s approach as minister was transactional.”
Ms. Casimer also said Mr. Rustad would set British Columbia back on Indigenous relations.
“It is offensive – insidious – that he would actually release that kind of a statement on this day of truth and reconciliation, where First Nations across this province and across this country are working really hard in terms of strengthening relationships between ourselves and our non-Indigenous neighbours,” she said about the Conservative announcement Monday.
The attitudes displayed by some of his candidates are a reflection of his leadership, Ms. Casimer added. The Conservatives’ current slate includes individuals who have questioned the harm of residential schools, including Sheldon Clare, who is running in Prince George-North Cariboo. He has touted the benefits of Indian residential schools, which he said in a 2021 Facebook comment were modelled on elite boarding schools “as a means of improvement.”
The Conservative candidate for Victoria-Beacon Hill, Tim Thielmann, has argued that the Haida land changes are a threat to democracy. In a posting on X in April, he wrote that Indigenous peoples lost ownership of their land to the British Crown, but got in return the “keys to the modern world. The wheel, the lightbulb, the microchip. Modern medicine … Will they be returned under the Haida Agreement?”
Despite the partisan debate, Ms. Casimer said she sees public support for reconciliation growing. She spent Monday morning in her community near Cranbrook with hundreds of others marking National Truth and Reconciliation Day.
“It’s really good to see that there are a lot of people out there who understand the importance of reconciliation,” she said.