FLETCHER: BC gold mine sets path for independent nations

Tom Fletcher has covered BC politics and business as a journalist since 1984.The BC NDP government is celebrating its first completed agreement under its ground-breaking Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), to restart the Eskay Creek gold and silver mine in the remote northwest “golden triangle” of rich metal deposits.The Tahltan Nation deal is termed a “consent agreement,” defined by a huge “consent area” that includes some of the richest metal deposits in Canada. That’s consent as in “free, prior, and informed consent” of the Tahltan that Canadian law does not require but has been granted by BC under the DRIPA.According to the province, restarting Eskay Creek involves capital investment of $713 million, and the BC government expects to collect $1.19 billion in Crown revenue over the extended life of the mine. Skeena made an impact benefit agreement with the Tahltan that promised $1.2 billion in cash and another $570 million in contracts and wages.The Eskay Creek deal includes an agreement that Skeena will hire between 150 and 200 Tahltan mine workers for the project. If the employees of a new company created for the open-pit phase of the mine have registered status under the Indian Act and maintain their primary residence on the reserve, they will be exempt from federal and provincial income tax.That agreement went to a vote of Tahltan members in December, sweetened with a $40 million up-front payment from Skeena that allowed the Tahltan Central Government to distribute $10,000 payments to each member before the vote. Not surprisingly, it passed, allowing the province to stage a celebratory announcement on January 27 in Vancouver.After a pair of recent court decisions that have shaken the concept of private property in the vast unceded parts of the province, Premier David Eby has promised to amend DRIPA this spring to protect private land title. But Eby’s public comments make it clear that what he objects to is courts doing the job of “land back,” as happened for a historic summer fishing village site on the Fraser River in Richmond last year. Eby essentially insists that “land back” is his job, and he is getting on with it at a pace that most people don’t yet realize..One issue that Premier David Eby’s government doesn’t emphasize is that much of BC’s current mining activity is not opening new mines, but extending the life of mines that were previously considered played out. Eskay Creek is one of these, having closed down in 2008 as an underground mine. Barrick Gold sold its rights to the property to Skeena Gold and Silver, which plans to restart the operation with open-pit mining this spring for an expected life of 13 years. International instability has pushed the price of gold to an unprecedented $5,000 per ounce in recent days.While BC touts the restart of Eskay Creek and expansion or life extension projects for other mines around the province, one major concern is that the Tahltan deal is too rich for any but the biggest mining companies to compete. While metal prices and investment are up, exploration by smaller companies to find new mines is declining, in large part due to the new mineral claim system that I described here last week that requires consultation with indigenous communities claiming title to the area.BC’s golden triangle is largely contained within undisputed Tahltan territory that is based on a declaration they made in 1910. While the Eskay Creek deal was proudly announced by a province that has matched the federal government’s emphasis on building and trading, other land deals have proceeded more quietly.There is a “joint decision-making agreement” with the ’Namgis First Nation for a large area of forest land on Vancouver Island, a mine settlement with the Tsilhqot’in in BC’s central interior, and others in the works. One of those is a land claim by the Kaska Dena people to a northern region as large as the Tahltan territory, representing about 10% of BC’s total area.As with other non-treaty arrangements being made by the BC NDP, the Kaska negotiations are being presented as “land-use planning.” These are the closed-door deals that have led to provincial parks being closed to non-indigenous people, and areas, typically including beaches and shore access, that are being restricted for traditional ceremonial use.Independence movements growing in Quebec and Alberta are only part of the threat to Canada’s integrity. BC is being divided into indigenous countries that are largely self-governing and tax-exempt, while still receiving huge sums from taxpayers for everything from healthcare to highways.Tom Fletcher has covered BC politics and business as a journalist since 1984.tomfletcherbc@gmail.comX: @tomfletcherbc

FLETCHER: BC gold mine sets path for independent nations

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