Environmental protection of economic, social and cultural rights on the Pacific Coast of Canada

The report further illustrates the unprecedented pressures on the ocean from the effects of climate change, and that the speed of many negative changes to the ocean are near to the worst-case scenarios predicted by IPCC. [...] Coastal First Nations cultures, spiritual traditions, histories and philosophies are inextricably linked to the natural environments and territories the people have stewarded for millennia, “We are stewards of the land and sea from which we live, knowing that our health as a people and our society is intricately tied to the health of the land and waters.”24. [...] The United Nations understands climate change as one of the greatest and most urgent threats to humanity.33 The Paris Agreement articulates this threat as an “urgent and potentially irreversible threat to human societies and the planet”.34 The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — a global plan of action “for the people, planet and prosperity” that integrates economic, social and environmental [...] Centred in the leadership and expertise of indigenous peoples and with a view to preserving the rights of future generations, UNDRIP indivisibly connects environmental and human rights and recognizes indigenous environmental stewardship as a globally sustainable model of development.39 The concept of environmental stewardship (rather than ownership) is fundamental to indigenous rights frameworks. [...] Indigenous rights to consultation are guaranteed under section 35 of the Canadian Constitution.45 A body of jurisprudence has established Aboriginal rights and title in British Columbia.46 In a landmark ruling that is the most current and comprehensive statement of the law of Aboriginal title in Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada recently clarified the nature and scope of Aboriginal title and the