Several historic resolutions supporting Indigenous rights were considered at this year’s convention.
“‘We have to come to terms with the violence that the police have on our people,’ Marjorie Dumont, a BC Teachers’ Federation delegate and a Wet’suwet’en member, told BC Federation of Labour conference attendees on Tuesday.”
Reporting for the Tyee, Zak Vescera and Amanda Follett Hosgood look at the intersection of labor justice, criminal justice, and indigenous justice:
“Unions representing more than half a million B.C. workers called on the provincial government Tuesday 11/22/22 to resolve disputes on Indigenous territories without the use of force, a clear nod to years-long clashes over resource development in the province’s north.
The motion was one of nine the BC Federation of Labour adopted or considered at its convention that dealt with Indigenous rights and sovereignty, including a separate resolution that, if adopted, will see the federation lobby the province to create “impartial police investigation procedures” in cases involving Indigenous people.
The federation also considered several additional resolutions related to Indigenous rights and police oversight, including calling on governments to disband the RCMP’s controversial Community-Industry Response Group, or C-IRG, but ran out of time to vote on the motions Tuesday.”