A/HRC/54/31/Add.2 policies to advance the implementation of modern treaties. 3 The Collaborative Modern Treaty Implementation Policy provides direction to federal departments and agencies to ensure timely and effective fulfilment of obligations and objectives in the spirit in which the agreements were signed and with the purpose of strengthening intergovernmental relationships. First Nations without treaties are generally subject to the Indian Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. I-5. 8. Indigenous Peoples negotiate treaties, self-government agreements and other constructive agreements with Canada through the Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs department. In some cases, these negotiations include provincial or territorial governments. Indigenous Services Canada delivers services and supports Indigenous Peoples to deliver services in their communities. These new departments were created in 2017, after the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada was dissolved. The provinces and territories have jurisdiction, for the most part, over economic and social policies and natural resource use. III. Recent progress in advancing Indigenous Peoples’ rights 9. Since the visit under the mandate in 2013, there have been a number of positive developments. The Federal Government of Canada, and the provinces and territories, have taken significant steps to engage in meaningful negotiations to transfer governance responsibilities to First Nations, Inuit and Métis authorities in relation to criminal justice, child and family services, health and other areas. The governments signed self-government agreements with three Métis nations, in Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan, to negotiate modern day treaties, and have established more than 130 new negotiation tables across the country since 2017 – important steps towards reconciliation and overcoming the negative legacies of colonialism. On 26 June 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously declared Aboriginal title in the homeland of the Tsilhqot’in Nation. This was the first time that Aboriginal title had been declared by the courts; it has contributed to a new era of recognition of Indigenous rights that is still unfolding. 10. Canada has worked towards advancing implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples with federal legislation. On 21 June 2021, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act came into force. The Act provides a road map for the Government of Canada and Indigenous Peoples to work together to implement the Declaration. The Act requires Canada to harmonize its legislation, including the Indian Act, with the rights set out in the Declaration. Additionally, the Act requires the Federal Government to table an action plan by June 2023 and to issue annual progress reports. 11. The Department of Justice released a draft action plan to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act on 20 March 2023, after engaging in a series of consultations with First Nations, Métis and Inuit representatives between December 2021 and January 2023. To increase accessibility and inform consultations, the Declaration was translated into Indigenous languages. 4 On 21 June 2023, after the Special Rapporteur’s visit was completed, Canada released the final version of the action plan. 12. The action plan includes 181 measures for implementing the legislation and the Declaration more generally, including Measure 32, on, inter alia, developing guidance on free, prior and informed consent regarding natural resource projects. The action plan has been criticized by Indigenous Peoples in Canada, who expressed the view that insufficient time had been provided for consultations, and that it lacked detailed implementation measures. 13. Provinces and territories can develop their own plans and approaches to implementation of the Declaration but, consistent with Canadian principles of federalism, are 3 4 GE.23-13374 The Cabinet Directive on the Federal Approach to Modern Treaty Implementation, in 2015; Statement of Principles on the Federal Approach to Modern Treaty Implementation, in 2015; and Canada’s Collaborative Modern Treaty Implementation Policy, in 2023. See https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/declaration/read-lire.html. 3