Indigenous leaders urge First Nations to exert more authority over mining regulation – Vancouver Sun
Jan 27, 2022
“We live in an era of consent-based decision-making, especially now that the (UNDRIP) is provincial and federal law,” said Terry Teegee, regional chief, B.C. Assembly of First Nations.
The province has “dragged its feet” on rewriting B.C.’s mining legislation to conform with commitments it made under the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People Act it passed in 2019, so Indigenous leaders are encouraging First Nations to exert their own authority over mining in their territories.
On Thursday, the B.C. First Nations Leadership Council issued a report with 25 recommendations for implementing Indigenous authority over mining that wouldn’t entirely supplant B.C.’s existing regulatory regime but would insert First Nations consent as a requirement in the steps along the path of finding and opening new mines.
