B.C. First Nations express concern over fast-tracking projects to counter tariffs threat
First Nations, environmental organizations and the BC Conservatives are concerned about the government’s plan for speedy project permitting, saying details are lacking
The B.C. government's plan to expedite permits for energy and resource projects is not a guarantee projects will be approved, according to B.C. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey.
The B.C. government’s plan to fast-track resource and energy development in response to the threat of U.S. tariffs is not a guarantee all projects will be built, Finance Minister Brenda Bailey said last week.
“Acceleration doesn’t necessarily mean only getting to yes,” Bailey said in the legislature on Feb. 19. “Acceleration can also mean getting to no, because we’re still keeping the vital protection of the environment and collaboration with Indigenous Peoples as our guiding light on these decisions.”
The government’s new plan to “expedite” 18 energy and mining projects remains vague, but its Feb. 18 throne speech — which serves as a blueprint for government priorities over the next year — included a focus on “prioritizing efficiency and regulating in a way that makes sense.” The speech also emphasized the need to “grow a stronger, more self-sufficient economy” in response to economic belligerence from the U.S.
The expedited project list includes nine wind projects that will not be subject to environmental assessments and the North Coast transmission line, which will power liquefied natural gas (LNG), mining and other industries. In January, Premier David Eby announced the $3-billion line will get speedy permitting under the BC Energy Regulator, whose authority will be broadened this spring to include major transmission lines and renewable energy projects.
The high-voltage North Coast transmission line would run from Prince George to Terrace. According to BC Hydro, it would impact farmland, waterways, at-risk species and up to 101 private property owners. Map: Shawn Parkinson / The Narwhal
The push to accelerate project permitting has drawn criticism from environmental organizations, First Nations and opposition politicians.
“I think the government has put the cart a little bit ahead of the horse here when it comes to trying to fast track some of these projects, but not having that process in place for exactly how you’re going to do that in the important component of consultation with First Nations,” Scott McInnis, the Conservative Party of BC’s Indigenous relations and reconciliation critic, told The Narwhal.
Robert Phillips, from the First Nations Summit political executive, said the government’s recent announcement indicates politicians have let themselves get “caught up in the momentum” generated by the U.S. tariff threat, while sidelining important considerations like Indigenous Rights and Title. Phillips is a member of the B.C. trade and economic security taskforce Eby struck to craft the province’s response to Trump’s tariff threat.
“There are some significant concerns that we have to discuss and negotiate,” Phillips said in an interview. “First Nations are not stakeholders — we negotiate with Canada on a nation to nation basis and we negotiate with British Columbia government to government. If they’re going to do this, then definitely we’re not going to be pushovers, that’s for sure.”
In response to the expedited projects announcement, the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs warned that the province’s response to the tariff threat must “uphold the inherent and constitutionally protected title and rights and jurisdictions of First Nations.”
“Direct involvement of First Nations in the development and implementation of any related concessions or retaliatory and relief measures is vital,” Terry Teegee, regional Chief of the B.C. Association of First Nations, said in a statement.
Na̲nwak̲olas Council president Dallas Smith, whose organization represents six First Nations on northern Vancouver Island and the central South Coast, sees room to improve an environmental assessment process he described as “bloated.” But he does not believe First Nations will allow projects to proceed without a thorough appraisal of their impacts.
“It’s definitely necessary for us to find a more efficient path through the environmental assessment,” Smith said in an interview. “But even with the province not requiring environmental assessments [for wind projects], I can guarantee every First Nations community is still going to ask the same fundamental questions that are asked during an environmental assessment. They’re just going to ask it in a different room and through a different process.”
Lack of communication about expediting resource projects sparks frustration
The government’s plan to fast-track two mining projects as part of its tariff response took the Tahltan Nation by surprise. Two of the mine projects slated for fast-tracking — the Eskay Creek mine revitalization project and the Red Chris Mine expansion — are on the nation’s territory, and it has signed decision-making agreements with the province for both projects.
“Premier Eby’s decision to expedite two projects in Tahltan territory without recognizing the necessity of obtaining the Tahltan Nation’s consent does not align with true reconciliation,” Iskut Band Chief Marie Quock said in a statement.
Investigating problems. Exploring solutions
The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for a weekly dose of independent journalism.
Investigating problems. Exploring solutions
The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for a weekly dose of independent journalism.
The “frustrated” statement from the nation suggests “a bit of hubris or lack of planning” on the government’s part, according to Kevin Hanna, an associate professor with the University of B.C. Okanagan’s faculty of earth, environmental and geographic sciences.
“That to me is non-negotiable — Indigenous engagement and consent,” he said in an interview. “You have to get that right.”
Effective planning and decision-making processes, like those specified in the agreements between Tahltan Nation and the province, make it easier to streamline permitting, he added.
“If you don’t have that, then you have a problem.”
Tahltan Nation, on whose territory the Red Chris Mine sits, said the province’s decision to expedite the mine’s expansion in response to the threat of U.S. tariffs conflicts with the B.C. government’s stated commitment to reconciliation. Photo: Garth Lenz / The Narwhal
The NDP government’s communication about its fast-tracking plans could have been better, Smith, with the Na̲nwak̲olas Council, said.
“I wish the government would work with us a little bit more before they go public with some of these ideas that many of us support,” he told The Narwhal.
“It’s important to talk about how we’re making things more efficient, but we’re not throwing out the years of progress we’ve made around reconciliation and joint decision making based on an expedited process,” he added. “That expedited process just has to be inclusive of First Nations.”
Cutting consultation corners could lead to court challenges: lawyer
Deborah Curran, executive director of the Environmental Law Center at the University of Victoria, said taking the fast-tracking effort too far could breach Section 35 of the federal Constitution Act, which recognizes and affirms Aboriginal rights in Canada.
“The duty of the province is to assess the potential infringement of any activity or development that’s going forward that might have an impact on Aboriginal and Treaty Rights, and then to work out a process by which they are consulting and accommodating those interests,” she said in an interview. “It’s unclear to me how you could possibly expedite that constitutionally mandated process.”
Courts have also affirmed the government has obligations to uphold Indigenous Rights and Title and has historically fallen short of those obligations. In 2021, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled the province had breached its treaty obligations to Blueberry River First Nations by allowing decades of development to degrade the nation’s land. (After inking an agreement with the province in 2023 to uphold the court’s requirements, Blueberry River First Nations took the province back to court in 2024, alleging B.C. has failed to uphold the agreement.)
The court decision states the province’s permitting processes failed to account for the impacts dozens of resource projects approved over decades have had on the nations’ territory, Curran explained. “It’s unclear to me how exempting even good projects like green energy projects from environmental assessment is going to enable the province and Indigenous nations to assess what the cumulative impacts are,” she said.
One of the energy projects the government intends to expedite — NorthRiver Midstream’s NEBC connector, a pair of natural gas pipelines that would straddle the B.C.-Alberta border — crosses Blueberry River First Nations’ territory. In a statement to The Narwhal, Blueberry River council members said the nations have reached an agreement with the company that upholds Treaty Rights.
“Blueberry looks forward to continuing to build a positive relationship with NorthRiver and other project proponents,” the statement said. “Blueberry’s council continues to support balanced industrial development in northeast B.C. that respects our Treaty Rights while contributing to economic growth.”
In the 2025 throne speech, B.C. Premier David Eby doubled down on promises to cut what he described as “red tape” for major resource and energy projects in the province. Photo: Province of B.C. / Flickr
According to Bailey, B.C.’s finance minister, the province plans to reduce the time it takes for projects to reach the finish line — or the end of the line — rather than letting them linger in limbo.
“What we’re getting rid of is death-by-maybe,” she said.
McInnis, with the BC Conservatives, said he’s keen to see how the NDP will achieve its stated goals while fulfilling its consultation obligations.
“The government has, in my opinion, painted themselves in a corner here with trying to appease the public as far as getting some projects moving to generate revenue for the province,” he said. “But there are processes that understandably have to be followed and we just don’t have those details yet as to how they’re going to do that.”
Another year of keeping a close watch
Here at The Narwhal, we don’t use profit, awards or pageviews to measure success. The thing that matters most is real-world impact — evidence that our reporting influenced citizens to hold power to account and pushed policymakers to do better.
And in 2024, our stories were raised in parliaments across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.
In Alberta, our reporting revealed Premier Danielle Smith made false statements about the controversial renewables pause. In Manitoba, we proved that officials failed to formally inspect a leaky pipeline for years. And our investigations on a leaked recording of TC Energy executives were called “the most important Canadian political story of the year.”
Here at The Narwhal, we don’t use profit, awards or pageviews to measure success. The thing that matters most is real-world impact — evidence that our reporting influenced citizens to hold power to account and pushed policymakers to do better.
And in 2024, our stories were raised in parliaments across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.
In Alberta, our reporting revealed Premier Danielle Smith made false statements about the controversial renewables pause. In Manitoba, we proved that officials failed to formally inspect a leaky pipeline for years. And our investigations on a leaked recording of TC Energy executives were called “the most important Canadian political story of the year.”
Get the inside scoop on The Narwhal’s environment and climate reporting by signing up for our free newsletter. While Canada continues to wrestle with an existential...
Your access to our journalism is free — always. Sign up for our weekly newsletter for investigative reporting on the natural world in Canada you won’t find anywhere else.
Your access to our journalism is free — always. Sign up for our weekly newsletter for investigative reporting on the natural world in Canada you won’t find anywhere else.
