October 23,2025
RED FM News Desk
A bill in British Columbia’s legislature that sought to ban publicly funded employees from making Indigenous land acknowledgements failed to pass its first reading, highlighting a division within the provincial Conservative ranks.
Proposed by One BC’s Dallas Brodie, the bill aimed to prohibit acknowledgements it claimed “deny the sovereignty of the Crown” and “attribute collective guilt based on race, ancestry, or actions of Canadian historical figures.”
While most legislators voted against the measure, Conservatives Heather Maahs and Harman Bhangu joined Brodie and Tara Armstrong of One BC, along with Independent Jordan Kealy, in supporting the bill.
Conservative House Leader A’aliya Warbus, who is Indigenous, said after the vote that territorial acknowledgements “do not hurt anybody” and emphasized that B.C. and Canada cannot advance reconciliation if Indigenous history is denied. Speaking emotionally to the media, Warbus said she “has lived with racism” her whole life, which she described as “alive and well.”
Warbus added that the vote was not whipped and that the majority of her party supports free speech, which she argued the bill would have completely suppressed.
Indigenous Relations Minister Spencer Chandra Herbert expressed relief that most members opposed the bill, calling it “hate, pure and simple” from a party that promotes conspiracy theories. He also expressed sympathy for Warbus, who received a hug from NDP member Brittny Anderson outside the legislature before speaking to reporters.
Brodie, who was expelled from the Conservative caucus earlier this year for comments about residential school survivors, introduced the bill on Thursday by describing land acknowledgements as the “anthem of a suicidal nation.” She claimed they serve as a “grooming exercise” encouraging British Columbians to surrender control of their land and resources.
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