U.S. tribes demand a say in key B.C. economic decisions

By Alec Lazenby – Vancouver Sun

U.S. tribes in Washington State and Alaska are planning on citing B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People’s Act in challenging provincial approval of resource projects.

The Sinixt Confederacy and the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission argue that they have historic rights to parts of B.C. They say lack of consultation and expedited environmental assessments for economic development contravenes their rights under the Canadian Constitution and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.