FLETCHER: Indigenous ‘land use planning’ rolls on in BC

Tom Fletcher has covered BC politics and business as a journalist since 1984.Eight months ago, I described for Western Standard readers the deteriorating state of mineral exploration in BC, even as Premier David Eby and Prime Minister Mark Carney were touting their intent to accelerate development of BC’s vast potential for metals and other critical minerals.As 2026 gets underway, the trends are not encouraging. The end of the province’s gold rush-era “free miner” policy came last March, as BC declined to appeal a ruling in the Gitxaala* aboriginal title case and started requiring indigenous consultation before mineral claims could be registered.As expected, exploration is dropping off, since prospectors are notoriously not keen on sharing the location of their gold or silver finds before a claim is staked. BC’s Association of Mineral Explorers (AME) says the latest data released by the government, from March to August, shows a 29% decline in new mineral exploration claims. The decline in area claimed is 60%, and AME says it has continued since August.The province is also not meeting its target of 90 to 120 days to process a mineral claim, with indigenous consultation still unpredictable.To hasten the decline in exploration, last June, the province put a one-year moratorium on prospecting in BC’s vast northwestern Golden Triangle region, estimated to contain three-quarters of the copper in all of Canada. The freeze is so the province can complete one of its land use plans with the Tahltan Nation and other northern aboriginal groups..These land use plans have started emerging from secret talks around the province, with investors and the general public shut out until the deal is done. Other plans involve forest land on Vancouver Island, recreation sites in the Squamish region, and other sweeping settlements of Crown land.An important example of this in mining is Brixton Metals’ Thorn project in BC’s remote northwest, just east of Juneau, Alaska.The company has spent 15 years and many millions to assess and develop the Thorn property, with more than a dozen drill sites showing gold, silver, copper, and other metals.In late December, the company’s lawyers wrote to the BC government to express its alarm with the lack of input Brixton was getting in the fast-moving talks with the Tahltan. The letter notes that the BC government has given itself one year to conclude discussions with the Tahltan and other groups over a rugged, remote area bigger than Portugal.“Given the scale and complexity, such an accelerated timeline suggests that material decisions may have already been negotiated between the province and the Tahltan Central Government prior to public commencement,” the letter states..The short timeline is more surprising given that the company’s projects are subject to overlapping land use plans being developed with the Tahltan and Taku River Tlingit.Brixton needs approval for its planned road access to its sites. Instead, the company fears that the land use plan may include expropriating some of the sites within it, after a workshop its representatives attended that referred to possible compensation for affected companies.**The workshop showed the company where it sits in the BC NDP’s land use planning hierarchy. Industry participants were included with environmental groups, who dominated proceedings with presentations about the risks of mining, while industry was given no opportunity to make its case.There is a general sense that the NDP and Aboriginal leaders are dividing the wealth in private, across vast areas where they have not proved title under Canadian law.Tom Fletcher has covered BC politics and business as a journalist since 1984.tomfletcherbc@gmail.comX: @tomfletcherbc*The Gitxaala case went to appeal anyway, resulting in a split decision that BC’s self-imposed Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act is legally enforceable across all provincial laws. This is forcing Eby to promise amendments this spring to prevent what he said would not happen. But that’s a disaster for another day.**Expropriation has already happened with the New Prosperity gold property near Williams Lake in BC’s southern interior. Taseko Mines, an established operator with two mines in production, was paid partial compensation and barred from developing the site of which it is still majority owner.

FLETCHER: Indigenous ‘land use planning’ rolls on in BC

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