National Post
· collected 2026-09-15 · by Special to National Post
analysis
Geoffrey Moyse discusses how the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is influencing the "land back" movement in British Columbia. He argues that UNDRIP, rather than Canada’s Constitution Act of 1982, has become a key framework for activists pushing for indigenous rights and land claims. Moyse highlights recent court cases, like the Cowichan decision, which have affirmed Aboriginal title as superior to private property rights, fueling tensions between indigenous communities and private landowners. He suggests that UNDRIP’s broader definitions of indigenous rights are driving this movement and causing constitutional concerns in British Columbia.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
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Story summary
UNDRIP, or the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, has gained prominence in British Columbia as a key document for Indigenous rights activists. Despite its original status as a non-legally binding UN document, it was elevated by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's call for its full adoption and implementation. This movement is particularly strong in BC, where activists view UNDRIP as essential to their cause.
The Canadian Constitution Act of 1982 already included Indigenous rights through sections 25 and 35, with Section 35 specifically recognizing existing Aboriginal and treaty rights. However, the interpretation of these rights has been largely shaped by the Supreme Court over time. A significant example is the 1997 court ruling that established the legal concept of "Aboriginal title," which recognizes Indigenous land ownership.
Recently, there have been developments in BC promoting the “land back” movement based on UNDRIP principles, emphasizing Indigenous control over lands and resources within their territories. This includes authority over resource use and revenue generation.
Written for “UNDRIP and Land Back Movement” on 2026-09-15,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.65, but every quote it verified points right, so the score is not published.
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rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 9795: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-09-15
Many Canadians are familiar with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), due to media coverage of both the content of the declaration, legislation passed by Ottawa and Victoria, along with court cases declaring it positive Canadian law.
asserted
it → pass → cases
What many may not understand is that UNDRIP has been the “holy grail” of the activist Aboriginal movement in Canada, and particularly in British Columbia, for many years.
uncertain
UNDRIP → understand → years
Once only considered a non legally binding UN document, UNDRIP rose to prominence when the Truth and Reconciliation Commission called on all levels of government to “fully adopt and implement (it) as the framework for reconciliation.”
asserted
Commission → consider → reconciliation
Never mind that Canada had already baked Indigenous rights into the Constitution Act, 1982, with the additions of sections 25 and 35.
asserted
Canada → mind → sections
Those rights have been defined over subsequent years not by Canadians or Canadian governments, but by the Supreme Court of Canada.
asserted
rights → define → Canada
A primary example arose in 1997, when the court used Sec. 35 — which recognizes and affirms the “existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada” — to justify the legal concept of “Aboriginal title.”
asserted
which → arise → title
We have recently witnessed in the Cowichan decision involving private lands in Richmond, B.C., where Aboriginal title was found by a B.C. court to be a “superior” interest in land to fee simple land.
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title → witness → land
The vehement response to the Cowichan decision by private landowners demonstrates clearly how well that judicial invention is now working out in furthering “reconciliation.”
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invention → demonstrate → reconciliation
It is a far more challenging set of legal assumptions, and arguably far broader in scope and reach than even the concepts that the Supreme Court has defined to be constitutional law under Sec. 35.
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Court → define → .
In fact, UNDRIP goes far beyond Sec. 35 in what it demands sovereign states accept as being the “rights” of Indigenous peoples, and those expansive definitions have become one of the driving forces behind the modern “land back” movement, particularly in British Columbia.
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definitions → go → Columbia
It is a concept that the present B.C. government’s adoption of UNDRIP has brought to the forefront of provincial political discourse, largely due to Premier David Eby’s obvious interest in forging agreements to convert vast areas of Crown lands into Aboriginal title lands.
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adoption → bring → lands
What the adoption of UNDRIP has led to in British Columbia are two highly controversial and constitutionally questionable assumptions about the rights of Indigenous peoples.
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led → lead → peoples
First, following Article 26 of UNDRIP, which deals with the rights of Indigenous peoples to their traditional territories, is the supposed conclusion that any Aboriginal community that claims a territory — no matter how large or doubtful the claim — has ownership rights over those lands and all the natural resources on them.
uncertain
claim → follow → them
Second, the assumption, without any requirement for constitutional proof, that the right to self-determination in Article 4 creates the authority for Indigenous communities to govern and exercise legal jurisdiction over their claimed territories.
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communities → create → territories
These two significant UNDRIP provisions have supported the work of the B.C. government in moving quickly to return lands to Aboriginal communities.
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provisions → support → communities
More significantly, they have supported the government’s move to recognize unproven rights to control and govern traditional lands, notwithstanding the fact that it is the B.C. government that has the constitutional legal jurisdiction and authority over Crown lands in the province.
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that → support → province
“Land back” is being promoted through two interconnected UNDRIP principles in British Columbia: the alleged Indigenous ownership of all lands and resources throughout often enormous territories; and the supposed legal authority to decide what those lands and resources can be used for, and who is to retain the revenue that they generate.
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they → promote → that
Supplementing the latter is the concept of “free and informed consent” that is set out in Article 32(2) of UNDRIP, which obliges governments to obtain Indigenous buy-in before any development takes place on their claimed traditional territories.
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development → supplement → territories
This promotes Aboriginal territorial control over democratic government decision-making on large swaths of Crown land and acts as an impediment to economic development.
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This → promote → development
Both the B.C. Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada have determined UNDRIP to be part of the positive law of the province and of Canada.
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UNDRIP → determine → Canada
It now remains to be seen whether the courts will begin to enforce UNDRIP articles — such as 4, 19, 26 and 32(2) — as definitive law, even when they are inconsistent with Canada’s constitutional law.
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they → remain → law
If the courts chose to do so, the “land back” movement in British Columbia is about to gain a great deal more relevance and public attention.
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movement → choose → relevance
Geoffrey Moyse is a retired senior lawyer who served as legal counsel to the B.C. government, advising six successive governments on Indigenous law over more than 30 years.
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who → serve → years
The Aporia
