Less than a week before National Indigenous Peoples Day, the Federal Government passed new legislation aimed at aligning Canada’s laws with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was adopted by the General Assembly in 2007. 144 countries voted in favour, 4 voted against and 11 abstained. The Declaration established a universal framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of Indigenous peoples around the world. In 2016, Canada officially expressed support for the spirit of the declaration by adopting and promising to implement the declaration fully (Canada did not formally ratify the document). The Province of British Columbia passed legislation to implement the UN Declaration in 2019.
Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission highlighted UNDRIP as it relates to the rights of Indigenous Peoples to maintain, control, identify, and protect their cultural heritage, and to the responsibility of Canada’s federal government to integrate Indigenous heritage into their policies and practices.
From the perspective of the School of Engineering Indigenous Caucus, UNDRIP is an important document and serves as a framework towards reconciliation. As an engineer, or an engineer in training, understanding the context of the relationship between Canada and Indigenous Peoples provides a more holistic perspective that can improve interactions and approaches when it comes to collaborations with Indigenous groups.
Here are additional UNDRIP and BC’s DRIPA resources:
This month, we will continue to share topics and resources as we open a dialogue about reconciliation, and the role we all play in this process. We welcome your participation and input.
Drs. Benoit and Foulds
Drs. Collier and Tobber (incoming engineering faculty for July 2021)
School of Engineering Indigenous Caucus