British Columbia opened a Pandora’s Box when it enshrined the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDRIP) into law, and will need the federal government’s help in putting a lid on it.
The Mining Association of B.C. (MABC) was in Ottawa yesterday lobbying for support for B.C.’s booming mining sector.
A booming sector needs support
Among the requests is that Ottawa get a handle on the lawfare that has resulted from UNDRIP and recent court decisions based on Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution.
MABC president Michael Goehring and B.C. Mines Minister Jagrup Brar were in Ottawa yesterday, where they met with MPs and government officials to make the case for B.C.’s booming mining sector.
As Goehring and Brar pointed out in a press conference this morning, there are 31 critical mineral, precious metal and steelmaking coal mining projects in various stages of development, and regulatory streamlining has seen six new mines, restarts or expansions approved in just one year.
“These projects represent over $41 billion in near-term investment, tens of thousands of new jobs… and $21 billion in tax revenue for governments,” Goehring said.
“Today, B.C.’s 18 operating mines and two world-class smelters delivered $27.8 billion worth of economic activity in 2024 and accounted (for) close to 30% of British Columbia’s goods exports,” Goehring said.
“And during a time of significant global uncertainty and economic turbulence, mining has the potential to drive a new wave of economic growth.”
Progress on permitting timelines
There has been progress in B.C. in mine permitting timelines.
“We have reduced the major mines application process timelines by 35%,” Brar said. “For example, the Mount Milligan mine application went through the permitting process in nine months. We have a huge momentum right now in the province of British Columbia, when it comes to mining.”
But B.C. needs the federal government’s help to keep that momentum going. This includes federal government funding for infrastructure — transmission lines and roads — and skills training.
The MABC estimates new and expanded mines in B.C. will require 5,000 to 12,000 new workers. The MABC is therefore asking that the federal government’s $6-billion Team Canada Strong funding be prioritized toward B.C.’s mining sector for new Red Seal training.
The MABC is appealing for direct federal investment in infrastructure, like the North Coast Transmission Line, which will provide power to mines in northwest B.C.
The DRIPA and UNDRIP lawfare threat
But perhaps the single biggest concern in B.C. right now in the resources sector is aboriginal rights law – something the MABC is asking Ottawa to get a handle on.
A series of court rulings based on Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution – now complicated by UNDRIP and DRIPA – threaten to bog down resource development in B.C.
The rulings include the Gitxaala Appeal Court decision, which found DRIPA to be justiciable, and the Supreme Court of Canada’s Desautel ruling, which affirmed American citizens have Aboriginal rights in Canada.
“We need government to restore certainty,” Goehring said, following yesterday’s meetings. “That December Appeals Court decision created a vast amount of uncertainty.”
A court challenge to the Eskay Creek mine is just one example of the kind of lawfare that is now being waged in B.C., thanks to the Desautel ruling and DRIPA.
The Eskay Creek gold-silver mine is supported by the Tahltan First Nation, but is being challenged in court by a confederation of Alaskan Tribes, who are using the Desautel case and DRIPA to assert consent rights in B.C.
Asking Ottawa for clarity
According to an MABC backgrounder, the association is asking Ottawa to address issues arising from recent court decisions. Specifically, it asks Ottawa to:
- Work with B.C. to “align the exercise of Section 35 duty to consult and accommodate for provincial and federal major project authorizations”;
- Assert that UNDRIP is “aspirational and non-justiciable in Canadian law, given the December 5, 2025, B.C. Court of Appeal Decision in Gitxaala v. BC.”; and
- Clarify that Section 35 rights “do not extend to U.S. Tribes”
“It’s time for some rebalancing back towards Section 35,” Goehring said.
Nelson Bennett’s column appears weekly at Resource Works News. Contact him at [email protected].
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