VICTORIA, B.C.: The NDP government has voluntarily surrendered core decision-making authority over one of B.C.’s biggest resource projects to an unelected Indigenous governing body, setting a dangerous precedent that threatens the democratic sovereignty of the province.
Under a DRIPA Section 7 agreement with the Tahltan First Nation, the Red Chris expansion only proceeded with Tahltan consent. The project had no leverage to make that outcome happen, and no recourse if the answer had been no. This is the same playbook the NDP ran at Eskay Creek back in 2022, handing over a project-killing veto and calling it progress. Nobody made them do this. Section 7 of DRIPA says the government may negotiate an agreement giving an Indigenous group consent power over a provincial decision. May, not must. The NDP chose to do it anyway, behind closed doors, with zero accountability to the people who actually elected them.
“When you give a third party the final word on whether a project happens in your own province, and you have no way to override that decision, you haven’t consulted them. You’ve handed them your authority,” said Scott McInnis, MLA for Columbia River-Revelstoke and Critic for Indigenous Relations. “Not to mention, permission like that doesn’t come free. The government must immediately release the financial details of this agreement so British Columbians can decide for themselves whether deals like this are fair.”
McInnis added that the deal also raises questions about fairness between Indigenous groups. “The Tahltan had the legal and financial resources to negotiate a deal of this scale. Most Indigenous groups in B.C. don’t have anywhere close to that same capacity. So now you’ve got a model where how much leverage an Indigenous group has in negotiations with the government depends on how well-resourced they are, and the NDP is fine with that as long as it gets to call it reconciliation.”
McInnis said the government’s real motive is protecting itself, not the public interest. “This deal is about the government trying to de-risk themselves to zero in court,” said McInnis. “They’d rather hand over a veto than ever risk losing a legal fight over consultation. This is cowardice dressed up as policy.”
McInnis also pointed to the NDP’s broader approach to mineral development in the region. “The government’s northwest land-use planning project covering 16 million hectares essentially stops all future mineral development in the region. Combined with their use of Environment and Land Use Act order-in-councils, the NDP are effectively foreclosing any expansion of the world’s most productive mineral region, leaving the future of new development up in the air. This deal is pure politics. The future of the region is still completely uncertain.”
Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Leader of the Conservative Party of B.C., said the deal is a symptom of a government that has stopped working for the people who elected it. “This is yet another example of co-governance under DRIPA. The NDP keeps handing away decision-making power to unelected bodies, who are completely unaccountable to the vast majority of British Columbians. It’s coming dangerously close to giving away this province’s sovereignty altogether. Decisions like this affect every person in this province. They should be made with all British Columbians in mind. A Conservative government will repeal DRIPA and govern in the interest of every British Columbian, not just a select few.”
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Media Contact:
Nikki Bal
Conservative.Communications@leg.bc.ca
+1 (672) 922-0948
