Pender Harbour, BC – July 30, 2026

The Pender Harbour and Area Residents Association (PHARA) is pleased to announce that a trial date has now been set for its constitutional challenge to British Columbia’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). The case has been scheduled by the BC Supreme Court Registry for a 16-day trial, beginning November 22, 2027

“The wheels of justice take time, but we are extremely pleased to have a trial date set because public concern with the DRIPA is at an all-time high, and our legal challenge is more important now than ever,” said PHARA president, Sean McAllister. “The government has done everything it can to drag its feet in this case and we are determined to move it forward.”

“We are also very happy the Court has appointed Justice Ramsay as Judicial Management Judge to handle procedural matters going forward,” added McAllister. This follows comments from another judge in an earlier procedural ruling who called the case “significant constitutional litigation” of high public interest, noting that he would be reaching out to the Chief Justice to recommend that a dedicated case management judge be assigned to the case.

PHARA’s lawsuit alleges, among other things, that the DRIPA:

• is beyond the province’s constitutional authority,
• breaches the democratic rights of citizens by leaving them governed by an entity they had no say in electing, and
• illegally tries to tie the hands of future governments by dictating what types of laws they must pass (so as to be “consistent” with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples).
  
  

PHARA has also recently written Prime Minister Mark Carney asking the federal government to consider supporting the DRIPA challenge. A copy of that letter can be found here.

The Notice of Civil Claim can be found here.

Anyone interested in supporting this litigation can make a donation at PHARA’s GoFundMe page at  Pender Harbour and Area Residents Association – Help Us Protect Property Rights and Constitutional Democracy

ABOUT PHARA

PHARA is a volunteer organization which exists to support the vitality of the communities of Pender Harbour and Egmont areas as excellent places to live, work and play for residents and visitors. The Association provides a structure that allows residents to identify issues of broad community concern and have them effectively addressed.

Contact:  Sean McAllister | board@phara.ca

Source: Pender Harbour and Area Residents Association