ITK: Canada should approve indigenous rights pact

The president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami wants the Conservative government to back up claims that a United Nations draft declaration on indigenous rights would be inconsistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The draft declaration has been in the works for over a decade. It’s currently being debated by a UN human rights council that first met in Geneva this week.

On June 20, Jim Prentice, minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, said the draft act would be inconsistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“We’d like the Prime Minister to provide the people of Canada a fully developed legal argument to back up these statements,” said ITK President

Jose Kusugak in a press release.

Kusugak warned that the Canadian government’s position on the draft declaration could lead to years of delays.