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Joseph Quesnel: Don't blame judges. Politicians created the Indigenous rights crisis

The solution lies where the problem began — in Parliament

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Canada’s UNDRIP crisis isn’t just about activist judges — it’s about lawmakers who either failed to understand what they were enacting or weren’t honest with Canadians about the consequences.

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The real problem began in legislatures, not courtrooms.

Joseph Quesnel: Don't blame judges. Politicians created the Indigenous rights crisis Back to video

When the British Columbia Legislature passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) in 2019, officials downplayed its impacts, reassuring the public, investors and industry that any changes from DRIPA would be gradual, filled with opportunities for stakeholders to voice concerns and not affect current regulatory timelines. They described DRIPA as a consultation framework — not a sudden shift in lawmaking. Ottawa made identical assurances with its federal United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDRIP), claiming it wouldn’t change existing consultation duties or create new obligations.

Those assurances have proven false, but not because courts are exceeding their authority. The problem lies in what lawmakers actually wrote versus what they told the public.

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