British Columbia First Nations Chiefs Celebrate Mineral Exploration Tribunal Decision

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Leaders of the Gitxaała and Gitanyow First Nations celebrated a historic victory this week after the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled that the province’s laws on mineral exploration did not meet the Crown’s duty of consultation.

The court challenge focused on old laws that allowed exploration companies to file claims without prior consent, often for as little as $60 per claim.

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The ruling considered that the duty to consult is activated when a mining interest is claimed in the province.

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For Naxginkw, director of sustainability for the hereditary chiefs of Gitanyow, the decision was “mixed”.

The duty to consult was eased.

But Naxginkw, also known as Tara Marsden, said there was disappointment over what she called the court’s “really minimal interpretation” of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the legal weight of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Rights of indigenous peoples. on other laws of the province.

Naxginkw also criticized the court’s permission to allow mining exploration companies to continue operating under the old law for another 18 months while the province makes changes.

The court’s decision sets a precedent in the province for a “very strict interpretation” of the UNDRIP, he said.

British Columbia’s Mineral Tenure Act was passed during the gold rush in the late 19th century, Jessica Clogg, one of the lawyers representing the Gitxaała nation, said in a previous interview.

As time has gone on, it has become even easier to claim mining rights. In the past, miners had to physically drive a stake into the ground. Now, with a few clicks on an online portal, bets can be placed from the comfort of a desktop, Clogg explained.

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“Gitxaała has won an important victory for all (First Nations) in British Columbia,” Simogyet Malii, hereditary chief of Gitanyow, said in a news release. “The gold rush is over. Industry and government must align with the new era of sustainable mining that respects indigenous rights to consent.”

The case was led by the Gitxaała Nation, with Gitanyow as intervener.

Gitxaała, on British Columbia’s north coast, based its legal challenge on the province’s Indigenous Peoples’ Bill of Rights Act 2019, which enshrines the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into law. British Columbia.

But Justice Alan Ross ruled that the law “does not implement the UNDRIP into British Columbia’s domestic law” nor “create justiciable rights.”

Instead, the judge used the law as an “interpretive aid.”

“Here we have governments that are constantly trying to water down international norms,” ​​Naxginkw said.

Naxginkw does not believe the province will appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. However, First Nations may consider appealing the judge’s interpretation of British Columbia law.

With files from Abdul Matin Sarfraz

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Matteo Cimellaro is a reporter for Canada’s National Observer Local Journalism Initiative. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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