Overview
- The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs announced Friday that Joan Phillip died peacefully at age 74 surrounded by family, including her husband Grand Chief Stewart Phillip.
- Premier David Eby and the BC NDP caucus said they are grieving and praised Phillip as a powerful, respected leader who worked across communities.
- Eby publicly credited Phillip as a key reason the NDP stopped plans to suspend parts of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, a major recent policy decision.
- The UBCIC said Phillip had been battling an illness for months and asked that donations be made to the B.C. Cancer Society in lieu of flowers.
- Phillip was first elected in a 2023 byelection and won re-election in the next provincial vote, and her passing is likely to shape local representation, Indigenous relations and ongoing legislative work in Victoria.