The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Implementation Act () is an act of the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, which requires implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Background.
Canada and the declaration.
Canada led efforts to weaken the draft declaration in 2002 and 2003, alongside Australia, New Zealand and the United States, though this was only revealed in 2024.
The UN resolution was passed in 2007. Four countries voted against the resolution: Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Twelve countries voted against and 143 countries voted in favour of the resolution.
UNDRIP was passed by the UN General Assembly in 2007, with Canada voting against it under a Conservative government. In November 2010, the Conservative government publicly reversed its position, asserting its support for the declaration as an "aspirational document". In May 2016, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett officially removed Canada's objector status to UNDRIP at the United Nations.
Roméo Saganash's failed Bill C-262.
Bill C-262 was introduced on April 21, 2016 as a private member's bill by NDP MP Roméo Saganash to implement the UN's resolution. Although Prime Minister Trudeau had campaigned in 2015 on the promise to implement the declaration, the Liberal government was not initially supportive, publicly declaring its implementation into Canadian law as "unworkable." In November 2016, however, the government reversed this position, endorsing Bill-262. Nevertheless, Bill C-262 "died on the order paper" in the senate during a Conservative filibuster. Maclean's referred to Saganash as the declaration's first "parliamentary champion".
Adoption of the declaration in the Northwest Territories.
The Town of Inuvik adopted the declaration in 2021.
In October 2019, the declaration was included in the list of priorities for the NWT government follwoing the 2019 Northwest Territories general election. The bill took three years to develop.
Provisions.
The legislation requires that a "statement of consistency" is provided any time new legislation is brought forward to demonstrate new laws are consistent with the principles of the declaration. The legislation also requires the development of an action plan to align existing legislation with the declaration.
Reception.
The legislation was criticized as being unnecessary by Nuri Frame, a lawyer specialized in Indigenous law, because the declaration has the same goals as land claims being negotiated in the territory. The legeislation received majority but not unanimous support from the Northwest Territories Council of Leaders.
The act, alongside the Forest Act, is considered to be among the most significant legislation of the 19th legislative assembly.