A coastal First Nation is celebrating what it calls a “precedent-setting” ruling from the British Columbia Court of Appeal in its challenge of the province’s mineral tenure system.
The Gitxaała Nation said Friday the B.C. Court of Appeal affirmed that First Nations can take the province to court if it fails to meet its obligations under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA).
DRIPA establishes the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as the province’s framework for reconciliation.
The ruling came after the Gitxaała and Ehattesaht nations launched a partial appeal of a 2023 B.C. Supreme Court decision related to the province’s “free entry” mineral tenure system. Under the system dating back to the gold-rush era, anyone could register a mineral claim without consulting affected First Nations.
The lower court found B.C.’s online system allowing automatic registration of mineral claims without First Nations’ consultation was unconstitutional. It ordered B.C. to create a new consultation process before granting mineral claims.
The province launched the first phase of that new system in March 2025, incorporating a Mineral Claims Consultation Framework. It says the full online system will be available by next fall.
The nations had argued that the old system violated DRIPA, but the lower court ruling found DRIPA was not legally enforceable by a court.
B.C. Court of Appeal Justices Gail Dickson and Nitya Iyer overturned that finding, saying “the judge erred in adopting an unduly narrow approach to the legal effect of the Declaration Act and UNDRIP.”
The ruling declared the old mineral tenure system was inconsistent with UNDRIP. It said that the provincial government has a legal duty to co-operate with First Nations to align its laws with the UN Declaration.
The ruling emphasized that courts can decide whether a law is inconsistent with UNDRIP.
Justice Paul Riley wrote a dissenting opinion, saying its implementation should happen through government-Indigenous collaboration, not litigation.
“This is an exciting victory not only for Gitxaała but for all Nations,” said Gitxaała Chief Councillor Linda Innes in a statement.
She said the consultation framework implemented by the province is “minimal” and called for a full overhaul of the Mineral Tenure Act in consultation with First Nations.
The Association for Mineral Exploration (AME), which was an intervener in the case, notes the appeals court declined to delve into the scope of the requirements for “free, prior and informed consent” under UNDRIP.
“[AME’s] view is that the interim measures of consultation created by the Mineral Claims Consultation Framework (MCCF) are consistent with the ruling, as they provide for consultation in advance of the granting of mineral claims,” it said in a statement.
“As we review the decision and the likelihood of future appeals, we will carefully consider our approach,” said AME President and CEO Todd Stone.
Regional Chief Terry Teegee welcomed the ruling.
“This legal victory sends a ground-shaking message to the provincial government: the Declaration Act is legally binding and cannot be implemented or interpreted in a unilateral Crown approach,” he said in a statement issued by the First Nations Leadership Council.
The B.C. Conservatives are calling for DRIPA to be repealed.
“This ruling highlights exactly what happens when government tries to legislate reconciliation through vague and undefined promises,” said deputy Indigenous relations and reconciliation critic Scott McInnis.
“The duty to consult is clear in Canadian law, and it must be honoured,” said McInnis. “DRIPA is creating confusion about who decides what, when, and by what standard.”
The post Appeal court overturns key finding on DRIPA in case targeting B.C.’s mining claim system appeared first on AM 1150.
