Jamie Bonham and Katherine Wheatley: Investors Urge Faster Progress on DRIPA-Based Mining Reform

Article content

in a letter to British Columbia Prime Minister John Horgan two years ago this month, a group of Canadian, American and European investors representing approximately $ 1.1 trillion in assets under management welcomed the passage by the British Columbia Legislature of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DRIPA), which aimed to harmonize the laws and policies of British Columbia with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Article content

As signatories to the letter, we agree that DRIPA was an important step toward creating the stability investors seek.

We note that uncertainty due to inadequate or non-existent indigenous participation is a material concern for investors, discouraging investment and creating reputational and economic risks for investors seeking to align with global best practices in respect of indigenous rights.

We expected DRIPA to herald a new era in mineral resource development in British Columbia and differentiate the province from other jurisdictions, national and international, by creating the stability investors need.

Sadly, two years later, we are still waiting.

While environmental, social, and governance performance standards are not DRIPA’s primary goal, they are at the core of what investors expect resource companies to implement when it comes to indigenous rights, and policy instruments. how DRIPA can help drive that implementation.

Article content

Not that DRIPA was ignored. Important progress has been made in areas such as indigenous housing, fighting racism in healthcare, mental health, and income sharing. We accept that it is a slow process that has become more difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the reform of the mining law is simply too important to delay further. The window is closing for BC to rank as the responsible supplier of choice for essential commodities for a low-carbon future. Too many mining companies still behave as if DRIPA doesn’t exist, and it may not until the British Columbia government takes steps to align the province’s mining laws with the free, prior and informed consent provisions of the law.

Until then, things remain uncertain. Without clear and comprehensive provincial action legislating consent-based agreements, we will continue to see indigenous nations use the courts to enforce their rights and protect their people and the environment on their own land.

Article content

In recent months, the Nuxalk Nation evicted a mining exploration company from its territory because it was not consulted or informed about the mining claims, and the Hereditary chiefs of the Gitanyow nation declared an Indigenous Conservation and Protection Area to stop mining exploration.

More recently, the Gitxaała First Nation challenged BC’s Mineral Tenure Act in court, arguing that it is inconsistent with DRIPA. The law, which dates back to the mid-19th century, allows prospectors to claim and explore the land of Indigenous Nations without consulting or even informing the Nation.

It is important to note that the Mineral Tenure Act is just one of many British Columbia mining laws in need of substantial revision. DRIPA envisions a normative landscape in which indigenous rights are fundamental, not secondary, or even parallel, to the future of mining. That means, among other things, addressing concerns about tailings dams, water quality, and fish habitat impacts.

Article content

The potential of DRIPA embraced by investors in our 2019 letter is a future in which the uncertainty plaguing the mining industry today is removed and BC is deservedly recognized as a world leader in responsible mining, but that path leads through the successful implementation of DRIPA.

Without clear political direction and amended legislation to ensure that indigenous rights are upheld and respected, the investment climate in British Columbia will become more unstable and uncertain.

An increasing number of users of metals and minerals that will become priority commodities to meet the global shift towards low carbon technologies are demanding that suppliers adhere to higher environmental, social and governance standards, including respect for indigenous rights and tailings dam safety. Projects in a DRIPA compliant CB would be right at the front of that line.

We understand that DRIPA is the first step on a long journey. However, the government must understand that investors are also on their way, and BC must provide a roadmap that gives us confidence that the province is going in the right direction.

Jamie Bonham is Director of Corporate Participation at NEI Investments. Katherine Wheatley is Manager of Education and Counseling and Reconciliation in Responsible Investing and Responsible Investing Initiative at SHARE, the Canadian Stockholders Association for Research and Education.