VICTORIA, B.C. – Adam Olsen, B.C. Green Party spokesperson for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation welcomed the government’s draft principles for the public service on relationships with Indigenous peoples. The shared support of the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) calls to action and the Tsilhqot’in Supreme Court Decision is a foundational component of the Confidence and Supply Agreement (CASA) signed between the B.C. Greens and the B.C. NDP.
“I am pleased with the direction of this government on advancing relationships with Indigenous people in British Columbia,” said Olsen.
“We are operating under a system that was devised long before our government committed to approaching Indigenous people as equal partners. It is going to take an all-of-government approach in order to successfully advance reconciliation. From the Ministers and Deputy Ministers to every civil servant, a shift of this scale in how the civil service is informed and makes decisions will not be easy.
“We have a lot of work ahead and many questions to answer, but I believe Minister Fraser has proven to be genuine and sincere in this work. That is an important place to start. I look forward to seeing how these principles are implemented in practice, and to participating in the process towards finalizing them so that we can fulfill our CASA commitments to adopt UNDRIP, the TRC calls-to-action and the Tsilhqot’in Supreme Court Decision.”
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