What is the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act?

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (commonly called the federal UNDRIP Act) is the federal statute requiring Canada to take all measures necessary to ensure that the laws of Canada are consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and to prepare and implement an action plan to achieve the objectives of the Declaration in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples. The federal UNDRIP Act received Royal Assent on June 21, 2021 (National Indigenous Peoples Day) and is the principal federal vehicle for implementing the Declaration.

UNDRIP itself was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on September 13, 2007 by a vote of 144 in favour, 4 against (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States), and 11 abstentions. Canada endorsed the Declaration as 'an aspirational document' in 2010, removed its objector status in 2016, and committed to implementation in 2017. The Declaration is non-binding international law that affirms the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples including self-determination, lands and territories, free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) for matters affecting them, and protection of cultures and languages.

The federal UNDRIP Act was preceded by British Columbia's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), which received Royal Assent on November 28, 2019. Both statutes commit the relevant government to harmonise its laws with UNDRIP and to develop a multi-year action plan in consultation with Indigenous peoples. The federal UNDRIP Action Plan was released on June 21, 2023 and contains 181 measures covering federal departments and agencies. Annual progress reports are tabled in Parliament under section 7 of the Act.

The federal UNDRIP Act builds on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action 43 and 44 and on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls' Calls for Justice 1.2(v) and 1.7. It works alongside section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 (which recognises and affirms Aboriginal and treaty rights) and the Crown-Indigenous duty to consult and accommodate from Haida Nation v. British Columbia (2004) and Mikisew Cree First Nation v. Canada (2018). Federal implementing legislation includes the recently passed Indigenous Languages Act of 2019, An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Metis children, youth and families of 2019, and the Bill C-53 self-government framework of 2024.