BC Mining Law Reform

✍️ Join civil society leaders in signing and sharing a joint statement in support of B.C.’s Declaration Act: bit.ly/3NcgjLN

📬 Don’t miss the next newsletter! Subscribe for updates and ways to take action! reformbcmining.ca/join/|
(10/10)

Eskay Creek: A First — and a Test

B.C. approved the Eskay Creek Mine — the first Section 7 consent agreement under the Declaration Act.

Federal review flagged serious impacts on fish and habitat, requiring extra monitoring.

Consent must come with strong environmental oversight. (9/10)

Permission shouldn’t be radical. It's time to rethink mining in BC Canada's obligations under United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples create legal, financial and reputational uncertainty within BC’s mining sector — and has undeniably harmed the...

B.C. Mining Push Accelerates

In early 2026, the B.C. gov fast-tracked multiple mining projects and advanced the Western minerals strategy.

Critics (including us) warn approvals continue without meaningful consent — and oversight struggles to keep up.

🔎 Read our latest op-ed: bit.ly/3Lly6iU
(8/10)

Western Critical Minerals Pact

B.C. and six provinces/territories unveiled a shared minerals plan for growth and the energy transition.

But mining is moving faster than the safeguards meant to govern it — and Indigenous peoples were excluded from the pact and announcement. (7/10)

Canada Links Defence Strategy to “Critical Minerals”

Prime Minister Carney’s new Defence Industrial Strategy links "critical minerals" to national defence and jobs.

This means more pressure to expand mining — and bigger questions about consent, oversight, and who benefits. (6/10)

Misinformation Alert

Fear-mongering about private property and DRIPA is misplaced.

The real impact on property rights comes from the Mineral Tenure Act, which lets prospectors stake on rural/farm land without landowner say. (5/10)

Lessons from Lived-Experience

In a powerful op-ed, Marilyn Slett, Chief Councillor of the Heiltsuk Nation, connects this fight to her father’s residential school experiences — showing what weakening oversight would mean for justice and accountability.

📖 Read more: bit.ly/4awicuy
(4/10)

Reconciliation or Backtracking?

Claiming commitment to UNDRIP while defending a regime found wanting by courts is a contradiction. (3/10)

Courts Said “Fix the Law.” B.C. Appealed Instead.

The Gitxaała decision exposed a misalignment between B.C.’s mineral tenure system and the Province’s UNDRIP commitments.

Rather than reform the Mineral Tenure Act, B.C. filed to appeal to the Supreme Court and signalled changes to DRIPA. (2/10)

🔎 ICYMI: Our February newsletter is out! From court decisions to legislative reform, we take a look at the latest news shaping B.C.’s mining landscape. Here's a recap... 🧵(1/10)

⚖️ Why it matters: Skipping proper consent, environmental oversight, and watershed protection risks repeating past harms. Communities, lands, and waters could bear the cost while promised economic gains fall short. (4/4)

👀 The concern: “Critical minerals” are framed as urgent — yet B.C. can’t process most of what it mines and doesn’t track where it goes. Critics say the focus should be on modernizing mining laws, not weakening Indigenous rights. (3/4)

🔎 The move: B.C. is fast-tracking mining projects & hinting at changes to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) after a court found it failed to properly consult First Nations. The province also signed a Western Critical Minerals Strategy to boost extraction. (2/4)

The cost of B.C.’s big mining push | The Narwhal British Columbia is pushing through mining projects as Premier David Eby confirms his desire to make changes to DRIPA and prioritize critical minerals

📰 B.C. rushes critical minerals mining — but at what cost?

Read the full story in
@thenarwhal.ca
: thenarwhal.ca/bc-mining-pu...
🧵(1/4)

smǝlqmíx leaders emphasize ‘no consent’ as 'B.C.' approves Copper Mountain Mine expansion The New Ingerbelle project near 'Princeton' will revive an old open pit mine and raise its tailings dam by 87 metres

Indigenous leaders from the Similkameen Valley are “deeply disappointed” by a provincial decision to approve a contentious mine expansion in their territories — emphasizing that they did not give consent for the project to move forward.

Story by Aaron Hemens.

indiginews.com/news/copper-...

Our latest report breaks down how the Save Sangihe Island coalition is building a powerful movement to defend the land and waters that communities depend on.

Read the full report here: miningwatch.ca/2026/2/24/mi...

MiningWatch joins 80+ civil society leaders from legal, labour, faith, environmental, academic, & arts communities to urge Premier Eby and the BC government to recommit to upholding Indigenous Rights - and to implement DRIPA, not amend it.

Read the full statement: miningwatch.ca/news/2026/2/...

Denying or limiting Nations access to courts risks weakening accountability and setting back reconciliation efforts by decades — while laws like the Mineral Tenure Act (MTA) continue to undermine Indigenous rights. (5/5)

This month, the Province applied to the Supreme Court of Canada to appeal — arguing “reconciliation and core democratic values” are at stake. Premier David Eby says the Province will amend #DRIPA to scale back the role of courts in shaping reconciliation. (4/5)

The court affirmed that BC’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) is legally enforceable. (3/5)

In a landmark ruling late last year, the BC Court of Appeal sided with the Gitxaała Nation and found BC’s mineral claims regime inconsistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). (2/5)

JOINT STATEMENT: Legal, labour, faith, enviro, academic, arts & other community leaders from across the province are urging Premier Eby and the BC government to recommit to upholding Indigenous Rights.

👉 Read the full joint statement: bit.ly/4cxXVXV
🧵(1/5)

Marilyn Slett, Chief Councillor of Heiltsuk Nation, warns proposed changes to B.C.’s DRIPA could weaken court oversight and limit First Nations’ access to justice. For families shaped by residential school history, this is lived experience — not abstract policy.

📖 Read more: bit.ly/4awicuy

A salmon-coloured building in a town square with a big, blue sky beyond.

Tumber Ridge is not just idyllic but resilient.

It has seen mines open and close and reopen. It has embraced wind energy, made unprecedented dinosaur discoveries, hosts epic adventures and reinvented itself through tourism.

Thinking of everyone there as the town faces the unimaginable days ahead.

Standing with the community of Tumbler Ridge during this incredibly difficult time. You are in our hearts. ❤️

B.C. appeals Gitxaała mining decision to Supreme Court of Canada A recent court decision ruled current Mineral Tenure Act violates province's duty to consult with First Nations on mineral claims

👉 Read more in The Vancouver Sun: bit.ly/4aa60kb

#Gitxaala #mininglawreform #UNDRIP #IndigenousRights #BCPolitics #bcpoli #EnvironmentalJustice (5/5)

⚖️ Why it matters: The Gitxaała decision affirmed that Indigenous rights can’t be sidelined by automatic mining claims. Real reform is essential to protect Nations, lands, waters, and to build a fair and accountable mining system. (4/5)

👀 What we’re watching:
This appeal puts at risk a critical opportunity to reform B.C.’s outdated mining laws and bring them in line with Indigenous rights, UNDRIP, and meaningful consent — before mineral claims are issued, not after. (3/5)

🔎 What’s happening:
B.C. has appealed the Gitxaała Nation decision, citing uncertainty for DRIPA. The ruling found the province’s free-entry mining system failed to properly consult Indigenous Nations before granting claims. (2/5)

📰 In the news: B.C. appeals the Gitxaała mining decision to the Supreme Court 🧵 (1/5)