[Smithers, Osoyoos, Kimberley] – The BC Supreme Court released its decision Tuesday holding that the Province needs to change its free entry mineral claim system within the next 18 months to align with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The ruling is a result of the Gitxaała and Ehattesaht Nations’… Read more »
New public opinion polling reveals that 72% of British Columbians believe that the provincial government should be required to seek consent from First Nations and private landowners before issuing mining claims. This is not currently the case.
Today, the court will hear from us and the other intervenors, including B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner, a number of Indigenous nations and political organizations, and mineral exploration companies that support Indigenous peoples’ right to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC).
The B.C. Supreme Court has decided to allow all intervenor applicants to make arguments in the Gitxaała Nation’s legal case against the free-entry mineral claim staking process. This includes our coalition of environmental organizations, as well as other First Nations, Indigenous organizations, mining companies, and the B.C. Human Rights Commission.
The BC Mining Law Reform network and several of our member organizations have applied for intervenor status in the Gitxaała Nation’s groundbreaking legal case against the free-entry mineral claim staking process. We’re in court on December 15 and 16 to argue for our right to speak to public interest issues surrounding the Mineral Tenure Act.
Intervenor applications to focus on mineral tenure reform Vancouver – The intervenor applications for the Gitxaała Nation’s legal challenge against the province of British Columbia and four mineral claim holders begin today. The Nation filed the case with the B.C. Supreme Court in October 2021, requesting a review of seven mineral claims staked on its… Read more »
The BC Mining Law Reform network welcomes the Declaration Act Action Plan, released by the B.C. government this week. Notably, the plan lays out numerous actions on the self-determination and rights of Indigenous Peoples … and the specific action to “modernize the Mineral Tenure Act in consultation and cooperation with First Nations and First Nations organizations.”
In a new backgrounder report, MiningWatch Canada and the BC Mining Law Reform network conclude that British Columbia fails to meet the Indigenous consent standard for mining, even two years after the passing of the province’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA).
Local, regional and national groups support Gitxaala Nation’s legal action against the B.C. government. Earlier today, the Gitxaała First Nation filed a first-of-its kind legal challenge in the British Columbia Supreme Court against the province’s “free entry” mineral claim staking regime.
In a victory for the Tŝilhqot’in Nation, but also for the integrity of environmental assessment processes, the Supreme Court of Canada today dismissed Taseko Mines Ltd.’s application for leave to appeal last year’s Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) ruling about the federal assessment of Taseko’s proposed New Prosperity copper-gold mine in Tŝilhqot’in territory in central British Columbia.
