AFN seeks more time to develop plan implementing UN declaration on Indigenous rights

Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald speaks during her closing address at the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly in Ottawa, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

OTTAWA -

The Assembly of First Nations passed a resolution on Thursday calling for more time to finalize a plan on the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

First Nations chiefs gathered for a special assembly this week in Ottawa discussed a draft plan published by the federal Department of Justice last month.

The document seeks to lay out the first steps in Ottawa's blueprint for aligning Canadian laws with the UN declaration, which affirms the rights of Indigenous Peoples to self-determination and to their language, culture and traditional lands.

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A law passed by the Liberal government in 2021 required the federal government to return to Parliament with an implementation plan by this June.

However, the chiefs at the assembly decided that timeline should be extended to allow for better consultation.

Justice Minister David Lametti said in an address to the chiefs on Wednesday that the draft is not perfect, final or complete, and that there will be "intense discussion" about its contents over the next few months.

On Thursday, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said the government needs to take the chiefs' resolution seriously.

"I think we do have to give it some serious thought," he said in an interview.

"We know that the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is going to be messy in Canada, particularly with the federal system and a Constitution that was imposed on Indigenous Peoples."

Miller said the implementation plan requires a deep examination, but he said he was unable to commit to an extension of the timeline without further discussions with his counterparts, including Lametti.

"It really needs to be a profound rethinking of the way we do business and interact as a government, and if people need more time then it's something we certainly need to respect."

The resolution also includes a request that Ottawa publish action plans on the declaration's implementation every year, and that it provide more resources so that First Nations can meaningfully participate in the development of those plans.

The Assembly of First Nations is set to gather again in July.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2023.

-- With files from Stephanie Taylor