Senate clears UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples bill

A landmark piece of Liberal legislation aimed at harmonizing Canada's laws with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has passed third reading in the Senate, paving the way for the bill to be enshrined into law before a possible federal election.

Bill C-15 cleared the Senate Wednesday with a final tally of 61-10 with nine senators abstaining.

The UNDRIP bill got a rough ride in the Commons and in the Senate, with Conservatives in both chambers raising concerns about potential negative impacts of the legislation.

Conservative MPs voted against the bill, arguing it would give Indigenous people a "veto" over natural resource projects.

In the Senate, some Conservative senators brought forward concerns of six Tory premiers who expressed strong reservations about how the federal bill could affect provincial laws and areas of jurisdiction.

With a federal election potentially on the horizon, the bill needed to pass before Parliament rises for the summer next week to keep it from dying on the order paper for a third time.

The passage of this bill in the upper chamber means it will soon receive royal assent — a milestone National Chief Perry Bellegarde of the Assembly of First Nations says marks an important day for First Nations, Indigenous Peoples and all Canadians on the path toward reconciliation.

"Canada must now take all measures necessary to ensure that the laws of Canada are consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples," Bellegarde said in a series of tweets reacting to the Senate vote.

"UNDRIP will help right the injustices of past, and ensure that Indigenous Peoples have a bright and prosperous future in Canada."

The next step, Bellegarde says, is for Canada to prepare an action plan to implement the legislation, which is mandated in the bill. He stressed this must be done "in consultation and co-operation with Indigenous Peoples."

C-15 represents the third attempt to have Parliament approve implementation of the UN declaration in Canada.

Former NDP MP Romeo Saganash introduced two private member's bills to implement UNDRIP, the first defeated at second reading in the Commons in 2014 and the second stalling in the Senate just before the 2019 election.

The Liberals turned Saganash's bill into a government bill last year and have been championing it as a way to create laws and policies that are co-developed at their outset with Indigenous rights holders, rather than consulting after the fact on laws and initiatives that could affect them.

The UN declaration, which Canada endorsed in 2010, affirms the rights of Indigenous Peoples to self-determination and to their language, culture and traditional lands.

It also spells out the need for free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) from Indigenous Peoples on anything that infringes on their lands or rights.

Conservatives repeatedly raised alarms that the bill did not include a definition of consent, and that this could mean one First Nation could unilaterally put an end to a pipeline or resource extraction project, even if multiple other Indigenous rights holders were on board.nationalobserver