TORONTO, ON – CUPE Ontario and the CUPE Ontario Aboriginal Council call on MPPs to pass Bill 76, which would ensure that Ontario’s laws comply with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Bill 76 was introduced by Sol Mamakwa, MPP for Kiiwetinoong and the NDP Critic for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation. It passed First Reading in the Ontario legislature on March 6, 2019.
UNDRIP sets a minimum standard for the survival, dignity and well-being of the Indigenous people of the world. In addition to the historic abridgment of their right to self-determination, Indigenous communities in Ontario face chronic poverty and disease, a lack of basic services such as access to potable drinking water, pandemic suicide rates, and systemic racism.
It’s time for Ontario to recognize the historic injustices, and the continuing inaction by all levels of government that have contributed to these unacceptable conditions and ensure that all provincial laws comply with the minimum standards set – as recognized by the UNDRIP.
CUPE is Ontario’s largest union, with over 270,000 members across the province, delivering public services that Ontarians rely on every day.
-30-
For more information, please contact:
Caedmon Malowany, CUPE Communications, 416-578-5638, www.cupe.on.ca
dd/cope491
