First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) while acknowledging “some promising components” in Bill 26 also have the following concerns:

• The amendments were prepared unilaterally and without consultation by BC
• The amendments are technical and operational and do not go far enough in addressing the principles of UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action and our inherent right to self-determination and self-government.
• The amendments do not lay the foundation for the more significant shift required to change the child welfare conditions where the overrepresentation of First Nations children in care remains the most serious issue

First Nations of BC and others have called on Government to lay the foundation for change by recognizing and committing to the TRC Calls to Action—especially the first five Calls to Action on the legacy of child welfare systems. Any amendments must recognize the inherent rights we have as Nations to make decisions for our children, and the need for this to become integral to child welfare so we can end the mess that the policies of control and colonialism have left for this and potentially future generations