First Nations challenge B.C. mineral claim regime in court – Business In Vancouver

December 15, 2022

Requiring notification on claims would have big impact on exploration: AME

The principal of free, prior and informed consent embedded in UNDRIP must apply to mineral claims in B.C., First Nations will argue in court – something that has the mining and exploration industry in B.C. worried.

First Nations, environmental groups and mining and exploration industry associations are in court today seeking intervenor status in a case that could have wide-ranging implications for mineral exploration in B.C., as well as the federal government’s critical minerals strategy, should the case succeed.

At the heart of the case is the free entry mineral claim system that allows anyone to file a mineral claim without notifying or engaging with First Nations – something First Nations speaking at a press conference Thursday said breaches the spirit of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) on which it is based.

Read More: https://biv.com/article/2022/12/first-nations-challenge-bc-mineral-claim-regime-court

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