The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was passed in 2007. While UNDRIP was not a law in itself, it was meant to guide nations in implementing laws protecting their Indigenous peoples. This included protections for intellectual property (see Article 31).

Indigenous artists brought their concerns forward during the 2018 review of the Canadian Copyright Act. The following recommendation was included in the Standing Committee of Industry, Science and Technology final report on the review:

"Recommendation #5:

• That the Government of Canada consult with Indigenous groups, experts, and other stakeholders on the protection of traditional arts and cultural expressions in the context of Reconciliation, and that this consultation address the following matters, among others: The recognition and effective protection of traditional arts and cultural expressions in Canadian law, within and beyond copyright legislation;
• The participation of Indigenous groups in the development of national and international intellectual property law;
• The development of institutional, regulatory, and technological means to protect traditional arts and cultural expressions..."

The review of the Copyright Act did not occur that year after a change in government. It was not until December 2020 that the Liberal Government introduced Bill C-15, one meant to bring Canada into alignment with UNDRIP (and to uphold the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action regarding Indigenous Knowledge). This bill was passed in June 2021. 

As of now, there has not been any changes to the Copyright Act to follow the Federal UNDRIP Bill. Advocacy to amend the Copyright Act to include acknowledgement of and respect for Indigenous Knowledge is ongoing.

These efforts include, but are not limited to:

• Canadian Federation of Library Associations’ (CFLA) Position Statement on Indigenous Knowledge in Canada’s Copyright Act
• Work through Creative Commons

Learn more at Indigenous Knowledge Additional Readings and Resources. 

Attribution
Some of the information in this FAQ has been adapted from the University of Saskatchewan’s "Indigenous Knowledges and Canadian Copyright Law", licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada Licence.