B.C. secures mandate to negotiate consent-based decision-making process with Tŝilhqot’in Nation for any mining activity at Teẑtan Biny

Press Release

June 18, 2025

VICTORIA – The Province has secured a mandate to enter discussions with the Tŝilhqot’in Nation, if and when needed, to set out how the requirement of Tŝilhqot’in consent would be integrated with provincial decision-making for mining projects in the Teẑtan Area in the Interior of British Columbia.

The Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals and the Environmental Assessment Office now have the approvals they need to work with the Tŝilhqot’in National Government to negotiate an agreement under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (Declaration Act), if such negotiations are required. This is in addition to recent agreements between the Province and the Tŝilhqot’in Nation requiring Tŝilhqot’in consent for any reviewable mining project to proceed in the Teẑtan Area.

The Declaration Act Agreement would be negotiated if the Tŝilhqot’in Nation decided in the future to consider any mine in the Teẑtan Area that is a reviewable project under the Environmental Assessment Act. At this time, no specific mining project has been proposed for this area.

Section 7 of the Declaration Act sets out provisions for negotiating consent-based agreements for the purposes of reconciliation, and for ensuring local governments and others potentially affected by the agreement are engaged during negotiations, including potentially affected First Nations and mineral rights holders.

The Province has identified the following organizations that will be consulted, including:

• Cariboo Regional District
• Mining Association of British Columbia
• Association for Mineral Exploration
• overlapping mineral tenure holders
• Business Council of British Columbia

The Province will identify any additional entities or interest holders that should be consulted during the negotiation of the Declaration Act Agreement, if and when the Tŝilhqot’in Nation considers a specific mine project.

Learn More:

Tŝilhqot’in National Government: https://tsilhqotin.ca/

For information on the Declaration Act and Section 7 agreements: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/indigenous-people/new-relationship/united-nations-declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples/making-decisions-together

Read the Teẑtan Biny Gagaghut’i agreement: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/natural-resource-stewardship/consulting-with-first-nations/agreements/teztan_biny_agreement.pdf

Read the Teẑtan Biny Gagaghut’i agreement summary: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/natural-resource-stewardship/consulting-with-first-nations/agreements/teztan_biny_agreement_summary.pdf

Read the order in council: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/oic/oic_cur/0283_2025

For more information on the Environmental Assessment Act: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/natural-resource-stewardship/environmental-assessments

Previous agreements between the Province of B.C. and Tŝilhqot’in National Government: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/natural-resource-stewardship/consulting-with-first-nations/first-nations-negotiations/first-nations-a-z-listing/tsilhqot-in-national-government

A backgrounder follows.

Contact:

Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation
Media Relations
250 893-2028

BACKGROUNDER

Learn more about the Tŝilhqot’in National Government and the Province’s relationship

• On June 5, 2025, B.C., the Tŝilhqot’in Nation and Taseko Mines Limited announced the Teẑtan Biny Gagaghut’i to resolve a long-standing conflict over mineral tenures.
• As part of that arrangement, B.C. and the Tŝilhqot’in Nation entered the B.C.-TN Teẑtan Area Agreement, prescribed under Section 7 of the Environmental Assessment Act, which requires the consent of the Tŝilhqot’in Nation for any mine in the Teẑtan Area that is a reviewable project under the Environmental Assessment Act to proceed.
• The Teẑtan Area Agreement further commits the parties to negotiate an agreement under Section 7 of the Declaration Act to guide how they will address the need for Tŝilhqot’in Nation consent in any potential environmental assessment process for a mine within the Teẑtan Area (“Declaration Act Agreement”).
• The Tŝilhqot’in National Government and the Province have several agreements in place. They create a framework to work together on strategic priorities and advance the Tŝilhqot’in Nation’s path of self-determination. Any decision-making agreement negotiated in the future will address commitments under the Nenqay Deni Accord and the Gwets’en Nilt’i Pathway Agreement.
• The Tŝilhqot’in National Government is the administrative governing body representing the six Tŝilhqot’in communities of the Tŝilhqot’in Nation.
• The Tŝilhqot’in Nation’s territory spans 68,562 square kilometres of central-western British Columbia, the equivalent of 7.3% of the province.
• The Teẑtan Area is a place of unique cultural and spiritual importance to the Tŝilhqot’in Nation and a place where the Tŝilhqot’in Nation holds Aboriginal rights, which are constitutionally protected.
• Section 7 of the Declaration Act provides a mechanism in law to reflect the co-operation of two governments and how First Nations jurisdictions and decisions can effectively interact with provincial decision-making.
• Section 7 of the Environmental Assessment Act provides for consent agreements under the Declaration Act related to environmental assessments and project decision-making. Under such agreements, consent of the First Nation is required for a project to proceed in the area subject to the agreement.

Contact:

Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation
Media Relations
250 893-2028

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