A’a:liya Warbus came to the BC Natural Resources Forum to listen.
Now, looking back, she says that instinct mattered.
“I came to listen and try to understand… what movement have we had, what positive things are happening,” she said during the forum.
A’a:liya Warbus is the MLA for Chilliwack-Cultus Lake and serves as Opposition house leader in British Columbia’s legislature. She helps coordinate debate strategy and supports caucus members across portfolios.
Finding where the system moves
Warbus describes her legislative role in practical terms. It is about time, structure and accountability.
“As house leader, I negotiate with the government house leader on how we’re going to do business day to day,” she said.
That focus on the process shaped what she took away from the forum.
She spent her time tracking where projects move and where they stall.
Permitting stood out.
“What I’m hearing is that there are things that can be done better in terms of regulatory frameworks,” she said. “They’re finally starting to unlock a little bit in areas.”
Her takeaway is incremental progress. Not a breakthrough, but a movement.
Best practices are emerging. More importantly, they are being shared.
Economic pressure close to home
Warbus ties resource development directly to daily life in British Columbia.
“The economic viability that we need… is going to help everybody’s bottom line,” she said.
She points to affordability, mental health and education as connected pressures. Each depends on a stronger economy.
“So where is that money going to come from?” she asked.
Her answer is straightforward.
“If we are an economic force… then we can rely on ourselves and everything we need is in our own backyard.”
It is a familiar argument. But she grounds it in lived reality. Families are under pressure. Policy choices carry immediate consequences.
Partnerships that can be repeated
Warbus approaches Indigenous partnerships with caution and curiosity.
“I’m listening… and trying to listen as deeply and follow as closely as I can,” she said.
At the forum, she focused on examples that worked.
She points to partnerships that create “strong foundational partnerships that are long-lasting.”
What matters next is replication.
“I try to figure out exactly… what steps did they take initially,” she said. “That’s the formula right there.”
Her view is pragmatic. Progress comes from repeating success, not constantly redesigning it.
The lesson is simple. Bring the right people together early. Build trust. Then scale what works.
A shift away from polarization
Warbus left the forum with cautious optimism.
She pushes back on the idea that reconciliation debates are new.
“My highest hope is that we can get away from… polarizing conversations that we’re having around reconciliation and sort of acting like all of this is new,” she said.
Warbus argues the issue is not novelty, but understanding.
“There is nothing that is alarming other than our understanding of layers of law,” she said.
For her, the risk is getting stuck in language and process instead of progress.
“If we can get over ourselves, stop tripping over ourselves and talking about terms and instead… look back to what’s been working,” she said, “then we can bring those two world views closer together.”
Her focus is on outcomes, not terminology.
“We’re better together,” she said.
Warbus expects a shift toward more practical collaboration. One grounded in existing tools and experience.
“We have all the tools, we have all the people… we just need to keep looking at what’s been working,” she said.
For her, the path forward is not theoretical. It is already visible in projects that move and partnerships that endure.
Ian Biana writes for the Resource Works Accelerate team and can be reached at [email protected].
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