First Nations celebrate ruling on mining exploration

Leaders from the Gitxaała and Gitanyow First Nations were celebrating a historic victory this week after the B.C. Supreme Court ruled the province's laws on mining exploration did not meet the Crown's duty to consult.

The court challenge targeted old laws that let exploration companies stake claims without prior consent, often for as low as $60 a claim.

The ruling found that the duty to consult is triggered when a mining stake is claimed in the province.

For Naxginkw, sustainability director for the Gitanyow hereditary chiefs, the decision was a “mixed bag.”

There was relief on the duty to consult. But Naxginkw, also known as Tara Marsden, said there was disappointment at what she called the court's “really minimal interpretation” of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act's legal weight on other laws in the province.

Naxginkw also criticized the court's permission to allow mineral exploration companies to continue operating under the old law for another 18 months while the province makes changes. The court's decision sets a precedent in the province for a “very narrow interpretation” of UNDRIP, she said.

B.C.'S Mineral Tenure Act was passed during the gold rush in the late 1800s, Jessica Clogg, one of the lawyers representing the Gitxaała Nation, has said.

As time progressed, it has become even easier for mining claims to be staked. In the past, miners had to physically put a stake in the ground. Now, with a few clicks on an online portal, stakes can be made from the comfort of a desk, Clogg explained.

“Gitxaała has won an important victory for every (First Nation) across B.C.,” Simogyet Malii, a Gitanyow hereditary chief, said in a news release.

“The gold rush is over. Industry and government must align with the new era of sustainable mining that respects Indigenous rights to consent.”

The case was led by the Gitxaała Nation, with Gitanyow as an intervener. Gitxaała is located on the northern coast of B.C.

Naxginkw does not think the province will appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. However, the First Nations may consider appealing the judge's interpretation of the B.C. law.