OTTAWA -- By a vote of 61-10, senators gave the final approval needed June 16 for Bill C-15, which gives legal standing in federal law to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

OTTAWA -- There have been false starts and bitter disappointments before, but Catholic and other faith organizations now see a light at the end of the tunnel in achieving a key aspect of reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous peoples.

OTTAWA -- The Faith in the Declaration coalition is calling on the Senate to quickly approve a bill to give the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples legal standing within Canadian law “as a critical step” towards reconciliation with Canada’s First Nations.

OTTAWA -- Almost 14 years after the United Nations adopted a framework establishing the rights of Indigenous people, Canada is finally on the brink of implementing the historic document.

With the legislation already forwarded to the Senate for study and third reading in the House of Commons expected within days, Canada’s bishops and religious orders have come out strongly in support of Bill C-15, a law that would implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

To say that legislation on the rights of Canada’s Indigenous peoples was overdue is more than an understatement. It is a tragedy.