Gold company claims B.C. expropriated mine without pay to settle with First Nation

VANCOUVER — A British Columbia gold mining company has launched a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against the provincial government, claiming it was stripped of its mineral rights on Banks Island without notice or compensation as part of a settlement with the Gitxaala Nation..MCC Canadian Gold Ventures Inc., owner and operator of the Yellow Giant Gold Project, alleges in a notice of claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court that the province used its property interests as bargaining currency in confidential negotiations with the First Nation.The company says senior provincial officials, including then-cabinet minister Bill Bennett, had actively lobbied it in 2018 to acquire and remediate the environmentally compromised former mine — only for the government to later extinguish its rights through Orders in Council while discussions about the project’s future were still underway.“We are deeply disappointed with the actions of the provincial government,” said Danish Mir, a director of MCC Canadian Gold Ventures Inc. “If this is what the government considers Indigenous reconciliation then every investor in B.C. faces grave risk.”“The province specifically asked us to step in and rescue this mine — we invested millions, began the necessary work of cleaning up someone else’s environmental mess, and created real economic value for British Columbia. In return, the province negotiated away our property rights in a backroom deal without involving us or even telling us. That is not how a government should treat investors,” Mir added..The province announced the measures as interim steps while modernizing the Mineral Tenure Act following a September 2023 BC Supreme Court ruling that found the Crown has a constitutional duty to consult First Nations before registering mineral claims and that the free-entry system had negative impacts on Gitxaala and Ehattesaht Nations’ rights and territories. The orders paused certain mining activities and new claim registrations in designated areas, including parts of Banks Island, unless agreed to by the respective Nations. The government said the steps avoided broader litigation that could have had more significant long-term effects on the sector and described them as a government-to-government resolution developed in talks with the Nations.The mining company says it was excluded from those bilateral negotiations despite the direct impact on its legal interests. The company points to the landmark Carrier Lumber v. British Columbia case, in which the province was ultimately ordered to pay substantial damages after unilaterally extinguishing a forestry company’s contractual rights in the course of resolving a dispute with a First Nation during the Harcourt era..“British Columbia’s mining sector drives jobs, tax revenue, and economic growth in communities across this province,” Mir said. “We are concerned that the government has failed to recognize the destructive impact of its heavy-handed actions. We intend to pursue this case vigorously and forcefully.”The Yellow Giant property features gold and silver resources. A Preliminary Economic Assessment had reported a substantial valuation that has increased with long-term rises in precious metals prices and potential extensions to mine life.The provincial government has not yet publicly responded to the lawsuit announcement.

Gold company claims B.C. expropriated mine without pay to settle with First Nation

Related Stories

Federal figures show overdose deaths rose during B.C. drug decriminalization

B.C. faces constitutional challenge over race-based closures at Joffre Lakes Park

B.C. Supreme Court says province failed to consult a First Nation not recognized by Ottawa as a band

EXCLUSIVE: Federal indigenous department admits it has no record of contact with BC’s First Nations