‘Horrific impacts’: as B.C. prepares to fast-track projects, a mining watchdog warns past mistakes could be repeated

Environmental assessments exist for a reason. 

That’s what Nikki Skuce, director of BC Mining Law Reform Network, said in response to British Columbia’s current push to eliminate or streamline regulatory processes for proposed developments, which she fears could erode public safety and environmental protection around major mining projects. 

Last month, following a flurry of announcements about fast-tracking renewable energy projects and other infrastructure, the province enacted the controversial Bill 15, which gives the B.C. government sweeping powers to expedite proposed resource development. It has been widely condemned by many First Nations leaders.

“What problem are they trying to solve by pushing this through?” Skuce said in an interview. “Because, in fact, they’re eroding trust with First Nations communities and other communities and municipalities by pushing forward legislation like Bill 15 — and that’s probably what causes delays.”

“The era of trust between Premier Eby and First Nations chiefs is over,” Tsartlip First Nation Chief Don Tom said when the bill was passed. “The era of trust is over and now it’s based on results. And based on results, he has shown that we are not a partner here in B.C. — that he makes the decisions unilaterally, whether it be environmental assessments or the Declaration Act.”

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The move towards deregulation comes in the context of tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and strident lobbying efforts from industries like oil and gas and mining. The latter have been pushing the provincial government for more than a decade to reduce red tape, claiming B.C. bureaucracy hamstrings the sector’s ability to secure investment and get major mines built.

“B.C. and Canada must take urgent and bold action to assert our economic sovereignty amidst global trade disruptions and the potential for escalating trade wars. Persistent permitting delays must be addressed to accelerate the development of mining,” Michael Goehring, president of the BC Mining Association said in a press release in May.

Skuce pushed back on the idea, arguing it’s not B.C.’s regulatory processes that hold up projects so much as market constraints. She pointed to an independent review of mining delays published last year that determined the majority of mines experiencing delays do not blame government permitting as the primary cause. And the impacts of fast-tracking mining projects without adequate science-based assessments and sufficient monitoring on the ground could be devastating, she said.

“We see, for example, with [Yellow Giant gold mine] on Gitxaała territory they … didn’t go through an environmental assessment — and then they were dumping into the ocean and went bankrupt upon being caught. That left the community with a real mess.”

In a new report highlighting the “top 12 polluting or otherwise risky mines in B.C. in 2025,” Skuce warns the consequences of fast-tracking mining projects could impact public trust, trample Indigenous Rights and leave behind pollution for generations.

Recently approved B.C. mining projects focus on precious metals, not critical minerals

Skuce said environmental assessments are a “rigorous planning tool” that include science, community input and opportunities for citizens to push companies to use best practices when building major industrial developments. This is especially important when looking at complex projects, like mines, she added. 

Much of the talk around fast-tracking mines focuses on critical minerals, elements such as copper, lithium and molybdenum that are the “building blocks for the green and digital economy,” according to the federal government list of critical minerals. 

But look a little closer at what’s on the table in B.C. and you’ll find much of what mining companies are trying to get out of the ground are in fact precious metals, like gold and silver. 

For example, B.C. recently approved two gold mines in the interior, Blackwater and Cariboo Gold. In July, the KSM mining project in the northwest cleared a major regulatory hurdle when its decade-old environmental approval was locked in indefinitely. KSM is self-described as “one of the world’s largest undeveloped gold projects.” The company, Seabridge Gold, told The Narwhal it expects to produce around 81 million kilograms of copper annually. 

“Once operational, the KSM project will provide responsibly produced copper to support the advancement of a low-carbon economy, power electric-vehicle battery supply chains and support allied security imperatives,” Brent Murphy, a senior vice-president with Seabridge, wrote in a lengthy response to questions. 

‘Regulations were created for a reason’

In February, the provincial government announced it was expediting the Eskay Creek gold and silver mine and development of the Red Chris gold and copper mine, as well as more than a dozen other major projects.

The Tahltan Central Government responded to note it was “surprised” and said the decision “was made without engaging the Tahltan Nation, even though there are formal joint decision-making agreements in place between B.C. and the Tahltan Central Government about how decisions will occur regarding these mines.” 

“Despite British Columbia’s emphasis on reconciliation efforts, such as being the first province to enact the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, 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 Chief Marie Quock said in a press release at the time.

“Regulations were created for a reason: to protect communities, the health and safety of workers and our environment,” Skuce said. “They didn’t just come out of nowhere; they came out of horrific impacts.”

One case study she reviewed for the report is Cassiar mine, a former asbestos mine that was active between the 1950s and early 1990s, when the former mine owner went bankrupt.

“In talking to somebody who grew up there, this asbestos dust was sprinkled all over,” she said. “The dust would go everywhere and would just sprinkle in the snow. And if you were a kid, you would go out and eat the snow, like you do, right? And we know that there’s these horrific diseases that happen 10 to 40 years later.”

She said allowing mining projects to bypass regulations that were put in place to avoid polluting like what occurred at Cassiar would be a dangerous step backward — and former operating mines that have still not been fully cleaned up need to be addressed before approving new projects.

“There’s all sorts of issues with the current regulatory regime,” she said. “What we really need to be doing is fixing a lot of these problems and improving mining and dealing with a bunch of these abandoned and legacy mines before we sort of undercut it all and just add more on the landscape.”

Mining companies can avoid conflict, foster co-operation by listening to Indigenous communities: Skuce

Skuce said there are examples of how mining can be done responsibly in B.C. and noted companies that work closely with Indigenous communities have the greatest chance of success.

“We don’t have Red Chris on our list of dirty dozen in part because SkeenaWild did an investigative report and dove deep into the issues, and that has resulted in the company and the Tahltan working to try to make improvements,” she said.

The report, which was published in March by northwest B.C. environmental watchdog SkeenaWild, pointed to “shortcomings in provincial regulatory requirements and oversight” as the main source of issues uncovered when researching the mine. Newmont Gold, which acquired the project in 2023, has been working closely with the Tahltan government to “co-manage the mine responsibly and ensure Tahltan oversight in all environmental decisions,” according to a press release. 

“You also see community conflict when you don’t have that proper engagement, like the Tahltan blockading Fortune Minerals or the Nuxalk ejecting Juggernaut,” Skuce said. “I don’t think you do anyone a service by trying to push these projects through without adequate engagement and land use planning.”

In tandem with the province developing new streamlined processes for major projects, it is also launching a large-scale land use planning project in the northwest, which Skuce said is hopeful. Working with the Tahltan, Taku River Tlingit, Kaska Dena, Gitanyow and Nisg̱a’a Nations, B.C. is developing extensive plans aimed to determine where, when and how mining and other resource projects can take place — and where they can’t.

“This strategy builds on years of co-operation between our government, First Nations and industry to strike the right balance between conservation, reconciliation and economic development,” Jagrup Brar, minister of mining and critical minerals, said in a June 3 press release. “Partnerships like this will deliver the critical minerals the world needs while better protecting the air, land and waters that First Nations have stewarded since time immemorial.”