British Columbia Premier David Eby laid out his government’s new approach to mining development in the province’s northwest on Monday, which he said would harness partnerships with First Nations to seize on a “generational opportunity” for the region.
Eby said the strategy would allow B.C. to take advantage of its supply of critical minerals to draw private investment and create well-paying jobs while advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and ensuring environmental conservation.
It comes as the province looks to bolster its economy amid tariff and annexation threats from the U.S., and global economic uncertainty.
It also comes amid a growing demand for key metals and critical minerals of which B.C. holds an abundance.
“The vision is really built around three crucial pillars. The first is economic growth. The second is reconciliation, that’s why we are doing this in partnership with First Nations. And the third is conservation, that we are protecting wild spaces for future generations,” he said.
The core of the approach will be the development of “consent-based” agreements with First Nations, which Eby said would allow predictability for private-sector investors.
That work would include an “inclusive expedited process” that partners with First Nations to protect key lands and watersheds that “balances with development.”
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Eby cited years of detailed land-use planning that nations in the northwest have already completed, which he said would form the groundwork of the approach, and which he said could attract up to $30 billion in capital investment to the region.
“They have spent a huge amount of time on land use planning, they have been working with industry for a long time already, they have very good partnerships, and because of that partnership that already exists between industry and First Nations, the missing element has been the ability to make it real through government helping get things across the line,” Eby said.
“There are nations when their sacred sites are protected, when their critical sites for food protection are protected, that are very keen for the economic opportunity and development we can do together.”
Beverly Slater, President of the Tahltan Central Government, said members of her nation have a need for better community services but have been “left behind” by previous waves of development.
She said she was hopeful the new approach will lead to a better partnership that allows First Nations to benefit, while having a say in protecting their key resources.
“We have seen billions leave our territory, and we have very little to show on the ground,” she said.
“The resources they are wanting in our territory, we are wanting them to be done in a good way, pace and scale is important,” she added.
“We are working on a plan to move forward with the interests of British Columbians and Canada, and we want to protect the natural resources in our sacred areas, our watersheds, we want to continue living the way we have since time immemorial, and how do you balance that?”
BC Conservative Leader John Rustad, however, called the proposal nothing more than talk from the NDP government.
“The problem we have had is these layers of bureaucracy and process and delays that the NDP has put into place over eight years. He doesn’t seem to understand that he is the problem.”
Eby said the approach will coincide with the province’s ongoing efforts to speed up permitting on key projects.
Yet he insisted the initiative was unrelated to his government’s contentious Bill 15, which would allow the province to fast-track projects deemed to be of provincial significance. The legislation has become a flashpoint and has drawn significant criticism from a number of First Nations leaders.
Earlier Monday, Chief Don Tom of the Tsarlip First Nation slammed that bill, saying the “era of trust” with the NDP government was over if the legislation and the related Bill 14 passed.
“(We) are going to remember the next election, where they stood on issues and how they used their power and what they used their power for,” he said.
Eby said B.C. will also seek to align its approval processes for provincially or nationally significant projects with the federal government so that they would see one single review rather than two.
The strategy would also see the province boost funding to the north for infrastructure and social well-being, Eby said, to ensure northern communities benefit from economic growth.
-With files from the Canadian Press
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