Harman Bhangu launches province-wide petition campaign to repeal B.C.’s DRIPA law

VICTORIA — Elections BC granted approval in principle Thursday to Bhangu’s proposed “Repeal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act” initiative. The Langley-Abbotsford MLA and B.C. Conservative transportation critic submitted a draft bill that would repeal DRIPA in its entirety, with the repeal taking effect upon royal assent. Elections BC’s approval does not endorse the proposal itself; the non-partisan agency determined that the application met the legal requirements necessary to proceed under B.C.’s Recall and Initiative Act.

Bhangu called DRIPA a “disaster for B.C.” and accused Premier David Eby’s government of repeatedly changing its position on how the legislation should operate. The Conservatives have increasingly argued that DRIPA has created uncertainty surrounding private property, resource development and investment following court decisions interpreting the legislation. Party leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay has endorsed Bhangu’s campaign and encouraged supporters to participate.

The signature campaign will not formally begin immediately. Elections BC will issue the petition to Bhangu on Oct. 26, after which registered volunteer canvassers will have until Jan. 25, 2027, to gather the required signatures. Reaching 10 per cent province-wide is not enough: the threshold must be achieved separately in every riding, meaning a strong campaign in the Fraser Valley, Interior or elsewhere cannot compensate for falling short in another electoral district.

DRIPA was unanimously passed by the legislature in 2019 and made B.C. the first Canadian jurisdiction to formally adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a framework for provincial reconciliation. Among other requirements, the law directs the provincial government to work in consultation and co-operation with Indigenous peoples to bring B.C. laws into alignment with the UN declaration and to maintain an action plan for implementing its objectives.

The law has become a major political issue following court rulings concerning B.C.’s mineral claims regime and the role DRIPA plays in interpreting provincial law. Eby initially considered amendments and later proposed temporarily suspending portions of the legislation while the province pursued its legal concerns, but backed away in April after strong opposition from First Nations leaders. The government and First Nations Leadership Council instead committed to seeking a negotiated path forward before the legislature’s fall sitting.

First Nations organizations have previously warned that unilateral efforts to suspend or repeal DRIPA would undermine reconciliation and could generate additional legal uncertainty rather than resolve it. In April, the First Nations Leadership Council said First Nations would not accept unilateral suspension or repeal of the legislation and argued that B.C.’s constitutional obligations toward Indigenous rights would remain regardless of what happened to DRIPA.

Even a successful petition would not automatically repeal the law. If Bhangu clears the signature threshold and meets campaign-financing requirements, Elections BC must send the petition and draft bill to the legislature’s Select Standing Committee on Legislative Initiatives. The committee can recommend that the repeal bill be introduced in the legislature or send the proposal to a province-wide initiative vote. Ultimately, a bill would still have to pass through the legislature and receive royal assent before DRIPA could be repealed.

The petition process itself makes Bhangu’s campaign an ambitious undertaking. Elections BC says 14 initiative petitions have been approved since the legislation was introduced in the 1990s, but only one has successfully cleared the signature requirement: the 2010 campaign against the harmonized sales tax. Bhangu’s campaign will therefore test not only public opinion on DRIPA, but whether the B.C. Conservatives can build a province-wide volunteer organization capable of meeting one of the most demanding petition thresholds in Canadian politics.