Canada says it will support UN indigenous rights declaration

UNITED NATIONS – Canada says it will support a U.N. declaration protecting the rights of more than 370 million native peoples worldwide, ending more than eight years of opposition to the historic document that affirms their equality.

Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Carolyn Bennett told a U.N. news conference on Monday that Canada will officially remove its permanent objection on Tuesday and become a full supporter of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Canada, which has 1.4 million native people, is the last of the four countries that opposed the declaration when it was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 2007 to sign on to it. All four argued it was incompatible with their existing laws, but by 2010 Australia, New Zealand and the United States had declared support for the declaration.