Bruce George, who has long campaigned on behalf of indigenous people throughout the world, is supporting a campaign by Survival International calling on the Government to ratify the ILO Convention 169. The Convention recognises their rights to remain in possession of their lands, and to be consulted about projects which would affect them.

By today signing EDM 1299 Bruce has joined with Survive in accepting that to ensure the survival of tribal and indigenous people their land rights must be recognised and protected.

Today’s act is just the latest example of Bruce’s past campaigning on behalf of indigenous and tribal peoples. Indeed Bruce has the distinction of having a debate in the Canadian House of Commons in the early 1980s to have him thrown out of Canada for his campaigning on behalf of the native people of Canada, the Inuit’s (formerly referred to as Eskimo’s).

Speaking about the debate Bruce said today:

“Fortunately I was already back in London by the time of the debate, but I told the journalist who informed me of the short debate that I would happily return to Canada so they could throw me out!”