Federal UNDRIP Bill Becomes Law

• Published date: 25 June 2021
• Subject Matter: Government, Public Sector, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples
• Law Firm: Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
• Author: Mr Sander Duncanson, Coleman Brinker, Kelly Twa and Maeve O'Neill Sanger

On June 16, Canada's Senate voted to pass Bill C-15, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (the UNDRIP Act or the Act), into law. The UNDRIP Act received Royal Assent on June 21, marking a historic milestone in Canada's implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP or the Declaration).

The UNDRIP Act is Canada's first substantive step towards ensuring federal laws reflect the standards set out in UNDRIP. Accordingly, the Act has several potentially significant implications for Indigenous groups, government authorities and resource project proponents, particularly in relation to UNDRIP's provisions requiring states to obtain 'free, prior and informed consent' (FPIC) in their consultations with Indigenous peoples.

In this Update, we provide an overview of the UNDRIP Act's key provisions, outstanding questions about the Act's implementation and impacts, and our comments on how Canada's UNDRIP implementation is already shaping, and will continue to shape, the landscape of Canadian business and natural resource development.

Key provisions of the UNDRIP Act

UNDRIP is a non-binding international instrument that enunciates 'the minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of the indigenous peoples of the world.' A majority of the UN General Assembly voted to adopt UNDRIP in 2007, and Canada officially endorsed UNDRIP in 2016.

The UNDRIP Act's 22 paragraph preamble presents a lofty introduction to the Act. Among other things, it recognizes the inherent right to self-determination and affirms UNDRIP as a source for the interpretation of Canadian law. While the preamble is only an introduction to the Act, it will likely be relied upon as a tool for interpretating the intent and purpose of the legislation.

The Act itself presents two key goals:

• affirm UNDRIP as a universal international human rights instrument with application in Canadian law; and
• provide a framework for the government of Canada (the GoC) to implement the Declaration.

The Act's substantive provisions establish how these two goals are to be pursued by making Canada's laws consistent with UNDRIP and by preparing and implementing an action plan to achieve UNDRIP's objectives.

Ensuring the laws of Canada are consistent with UNDRIP

Section 5 of the UNDRIP Act requires the GoC to take all measures necessary to ensure that Canada's federal laws are consistent with the Declaration, and to do so in consultation and...