VICTORIA, B.C.: Premier David Eby has now revealed, by accident in Premier’s estimates, two court cases tied to the BC NDP’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA): a challenge to ICBC’s no-fault insurance program and a class action by survivors of the Willingdon School for Girls. Both cases invoke DRIPA to argue that provincial law must be read in accordance with its requirements, raising further concern about how far the legislation’s reach extends.

BC Conservative Interim Leader Trevor Halford says the two cases show this government’s DRIPA mess compounding. “The Premier refused to identify the court cases connected to DRIPA and now two are on the record, one of which is a routine ICBC benefits dispute,” said Halford. “If DRIPA can reach an insurance claim, nothing this province touches is beyond its reach.”

“The Willingdon case alone should alarm every British Columbian,” added Halford. “The plaintiffs are using DRIPA to argue the Crown can be sued for actions that predate 1974. That is the door this government opened when it introduced this legislation. If these are just two of the DRIPA cases they’re willing to put on the record, what are the other 18?”

MLA Steve Kooner, Critic for Attorney General, says the ICBC case is evidence that no part of provincial life is insulated from DRIPA. “This decision affects more than property rights and resource projects,” said Kooner. “If DRIPA is showing up at ICBC, no Crown corporation and no public program is off the table. The government needs to come clean about the full scope of this.”

The BC Conservative Caucus is demanding the NDP be transparent and release the full list of court cases tied to DRIPA. “The government spent weeks deflecting and refusing to put anything on the record. That tells you everything about what they know is in those files,” said Halford. “The NDP created this mess. They owe British Columbians a full accounting of what this legislation has done to this province.”

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