British Columbia is reviewing its environmental approval process for large infrastructure projects to improve transparency and ensure the legal rights of First Nations groups.
The province appointed a 12-member advisory committee to conduct the review that includes representatives of First Nations, resource industries and lawyers. The committee is expected to issue a discussion paper in spring, and changes to the environmental assessment process are expected in the fall, according to a government statement.
British Columbia has been working on revamping its natural resource and environment policies since an election in 2017 put a coalition of the left-wing New Democratic Party and the Green Party in power. The government has been vocal in its opposition to Kinder Morgan Inc.'s proposed Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion and BC Hydro and Power Authority's Site C hydroelectric project on the Peace River. The government grudgingly decided to proceed with Site C after a review found that it was too expensive to abandon, and it has joined a legal challenge to the approval of Trans Mountain.
The British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office will work directly with First Nations groups in the review, conducting its initial engagement with the groups through April. Unlike in other Canadian provinces, most British Columbia First Nations did not sign treaties with the federal government. Competing land claims among First Nations groups seek control of most of the land in British Columbia.
"We are working to ensure First Nations, local governments and the general public can meaningfully participate in all stages of a revitalized environmental assessment process," George Heyman, the provincial minister responsible for climate change strategy, said in a March 7 statement. The review will "contribute to our government's commitment to fully implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples," he said.
British Columbia and neighboring Alberta have been feuding over Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd.'s Trans Mountain expansion. Alberta, which is home to the oil sands, placed a ban on imports of British Columbia wine after that province said it would seek to limit flows of tar-like bitumen within the province. Alberta lifted its ban after British Columbia backed down on the proposed oil sands cap.
