The British Columbia government says it is dropping proposed changes to the Land Act.
The province was in the midst of public consultations over changes to the act, which would have allowed the province to create shared decision-making agreements with First Nations over land use.
The changes were proposed as a part of work by the province to update B.C. laws to bring them in line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The proposed changes have sparked controversy in recent weeks, including allegations they would have allowed a First Nations veto on land use decisions. The government denies those claims, along with allegations the changes would force the government to enter any agreements with First Nations.
The changes, according to the province, are intended to ensure “respectful partnerships” with First Nations that would allow long-term predictability in land use.
In a Wednesday statement, Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Minister Nathan Cullen said the decision to pull back from the changes emerged from discussions with hundreds of stakeholder groups.
“Some figures have gone to extremes to knowingly mislead the public about what the proposed legislation would do,” he said.
“They have sought to divide communities and spread hurt and distrust. They wish to cling to an approach that leads only to the division, court battles and uncertainty that have held us back.”
The Opposition BC United said it has held multiple town halls on the issue across the province and heard significant worries, and that it doesn’t believe the government wants to listen.
“They’ve very much shown their cards of what they want to do, which means they are simply trying to remove — in my opinion — this from an issue for the election and hope that people forget,” said Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Peter Milobar.
First Nations have strongly rejected the intimation that the amendments would have given them a veto on resource projects.
In a statement, the First Nations Leadership Council said it was “extremely disappointed” with the decision to postpone work on the Land Act.
It said the process of integrating Indigenous rights into B.C. laws, including entering into decision-making agreements with First Nations, as set out in the province’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, was both public and transparent.
“We are absolutely disgusted that the opposition leaders of BC United and the BC Conservatives leveraged the proposed Land Act amendments as a shameless opportunity for partisan political gain,” Grand Cheif Stewart Philip, president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs said.
“Their electioneering was a coldly calculated decision to create a wedge issue despite knowing their statements were not factual, and that they would increase racist backlash toward Indigenous peoples.”
Phillip said Indigenous rights are “not up to debate or referendum,” and called for an education campaign on the issue.
“People often go to the word veto, like does this mean they have a veto, does this mean that Indigenous peoples can say no,” said Cliff Atleo, an assistant professor of resource and environmental management at SFU.
“Which is usually mentioned within the context of some alarm, of upholding development a pipeline or other type of resource extraction.”
Cullen maintained that the proposed changes would have had no effect on tenures, renewals, private properties or access to Crown land.
However, he conceded that the government needs to “take the time to further engage with people and demonstrate the real benefits of shared decision-making in action.”
“We want to get this right and move forward together,” Cullen said.
Cullen said the province would continue to consult with businesses, the public and First Nations, and remains committed to finding a way to partner with Indigenous communities to ensure “stability and predictability” in land use.