A growing chorus of First Nations leaders is warning that B.C. Premier David Eby’s push to pass Bill 15 is deeply damaging the province’s relationship with Indigenous Peoples.
“The BC NDP are wrong. Premier Eby is wrong. We are united in our call that they must immediately withdraw the bill,” Don Tom, Chief of the Tsartlip First Nation and vice-president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said during a Monday press conference in Victoria.
“They are willing to look past any sort of environmental assessment, they're willing to walk all over First Nations Rights, all under the guise of efficiency.”
Bill 15, the Infrastructure Projects Act, would grant the provincial government broad powers to expedite pretty much any major infrastructure project, whether publicly or privately owned.
Eby and his government contend those powers are needed to ramp up the delivery of community infrastructure — such as hospitals, schools, community centres and seniors’ homes — and to seize the economic opportunity in the growing global demand for low-carbon electricity. Eby has argued the push for clean energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel use requires the rapid development of critical mineral mines, ports and other trade corridors.
Critics say the government is using buzz about a low-carbon future and U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to Canada’s economy and sovereignty to centralize power and deprioritize environmental considerations and Indigenous Rights.
B.C. doesn’t need Bill 15 to pursue critical minerals: Eby
As Tom and other First Nations leaders were in Victoria calling for Bill 15 to be scrapped, Eby was in Vancouver, announcing his government’s intent to bring billions of dollars of mining investment to northwest B.C. The press conference featured few details as to when and how the province plans to achieve that goal — or even what, exactly, it hopes to achieve — but Eby emphasized mining projects will be developed with the support of First Nations on whose territories the sought-after metals and minerals are located.
He also made clear the government does not need the powers Bill 15 would provide to make its mining dream a reality.
“There is no connection between Bill 15 and today's announcement,” Eby told reporters.
He said the government intends to work together with First Nations and mining companies to find mutually agreeable ways to extract critical minerals and protect traditional territories in northwest B.C.
Eby did acknowledge that “in theory” his government could use Bill 15’s powers to fast-track mining projects in northwest B.C. — something he said would only happen after securing an agreement with First Nations.
“That's quite speculative,” he said.
If the B.C. government doesn’t need Bill 15 to realize its critical mineral goals or to turn the province into an electricity powerhouse — something another bill before the legislature would empower the government to do — it’s hard to see why it is pushing so hard to pass the controversial legislation; especially as it draws condemnation from First Nations, local governments, environmental organizations and opposition parties.
The Green caucus, which has a co-operation agreement with the NDP, says it will not support the bill, and Conservative Party Leader John Rustad said his caucus will vote against it. Rustad — who campaigned on repealing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act during the 2024 election — condemned Eby’s response to concerns voiced by First Nations.
“I find it quite offensive that Mr. Eby would respond to First Nations leaders saying, ‘Just trust us,’ ” Rustad told reporters. “He has done nothing to earn that trust from the people of British Columbia.”
Eby’s assurances about his government’s intentions for Bill 15 do appear to be too little too late for some.
“How can we believe a premier who told us during the (election) campaign that he would respect First Nations rights and who then ignored them and turned around and showed us his back when it was time to implement the First Nations rights?” Hugh Braker, a member of the First Nations Summit’s political executive, asked at the Victoria press conference.
“The NDP government has purposefully chosen to paint themselves with a brush filled with the paint of hypocrisy,” he added. “All the promises they made during the campaign last fall have gone out the window. They say, ‘Damn the environment, full speed ahead.’ ”
First Nations concerns must be addressed, supporters say
The backlash to Bill 15 has been building steadily since it was introduced in the legislature on May 1. The bill will make changes that “reduce delays for urgently needed projects,” according to the provincial government press release, which included supportive quotes from seven leaders of municipal governments, public service agencies, post-secondary institutions and corporations.
New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone was one of the people quoted in the press release. He told The Narwhal he was asked by Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma to endorse the bill after the pair spoke about the difficulty of building schools in New Westminster.
“I expected that the focus on accelerating those approval processes on the provincial side would be welcomed by the Union of BC Municipalities,” Johnstone said. “Every time that we approve new housing in my community, the only question people ask me is, ‘Where are the schools? Where are the hospitals?’ ”
While he supports the parts of the bill that apply to public sector projects, Johnstone said it has become evident the provincial government has work to do to address the criticisms raised by Indigenous leaders. “I do hear that concern from First Nations and that is something for the government to address. For a government who has expressed, repeatedly, its commitment to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, I think that needs to be an important part of this legislation.”
Colleen Giroux-Schmidt, vice-president of Innergex, was also quoted in the Bill 15 press release. The company is partnering with First Nations on three of the wind power projects selected by the province to be exempted from environmental assessments and approved under a new process to be developed by the BC Energy Regulator.
She said she believes B.C.’s project permitting and approvals processes could use some streamlining but that consultation and communication with First Nations, local governments and communities impacted by developments are key.
“What we’ve seen is that time doesn't always equal rigour and the (permitting) process doesn't always lead us to the best options,” she said in an interview. “What does is early and ongoing consultation and engagement with the Indigenous nations whose territory the project is in or who are co-proponents and partners in the project.”
Actions, not words, demanded on B.C.’s Bill 15
In the weeks since Bill 15 was introduced, First Nations leaders have criticized the B.C. government’s handling of the bill, while emphasizing that they are not necessarily opposed to development.
“We get that there are some projects that perhaps will get the green light and will get the blessing for development and certainly we're not against the development of hospitals and schools,” Terry Teegee, regional Chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations, said in a May 21 press conference. “However, First Nations and other local governments need more consultation and discussions in terms of how decisions are made within our traditional territories and how this legislation is overreaching.”
First Nations Leadership Council member Robert Phillips called the introduction of Bill 15 “an unfortunate yet avoidable moment” in B.C.’s history.
“The province of B.C. has chosen to abandon decades of ... intensive, collective work to build principled pathways and tools to advance reconciliation for the benefit of not only First Nations, but all British Columbians,” Phillips told reporters on May 21.
Eby has acknowledged his government’s consultations with First Nations about Bill 15 fell short of its obligations under B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Critics say that lack of consultation means the legislation needs to be withdrawn, rewritten and reintroduced when the legislature resumes in the fall.
However, the premier insists the lack of advance consultation on Bill 15 can be remedied when the regulations to put meat on the bones of the bill are developed — a process that won’t begin until Bill 15 becomes law. His entreaties have left many First Nations leaders unconvinced.
“The era of trust between Premier Eby and First Nations chiefs is over,” Tsartlip Chief Tom told reporters on Monday. “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.”
Expect lawsuits if Bill 15 passes, First Nations leaders warn
Strident criticism notwithstanding, Bill 15 is set to go to a final vote May 28.
Asked whether he expects his whole caucus will vote in favour of the controversial bill — a unanimity likely required to ensure the bill passes, given the NDP’s small majority in the legislature — Eby made clear he sees the vote on Bill 15 as an inflection point for the province.
“Every NDP MLA understands that this is a fork in the road, and that is a fork in the road between court and litigation and fighting and between co-operation and shared prosperity,” he told reporters Monday.
Presuming Bill 15 does pass, Eby’s government is still likely to face lawsuits. First Nations leaders have stated repeatedly that they intend to challenge the bill in court should it become law.
"At one swipe of the pen, the premier can put all of this off to the fall, and that's what we're calling for — to kill the bill,” said Phillips, of the First Nations Leadership Council.
Eby’s only option to avoid escalated conflict with First Nations is to withdraw Bill 15, Phillips said, and reintroduce a new bill that addresses the identified concerns when the legislature resumes in the fall.
“If this isn't done, then we're going to see conflict, we're going to see court cases, we're going to see protests,” Phillips said. “This amount of disrespect that's happened with the premier moving forward like this, it's unbelievable.”
This story is available for use by Canadian Press clients through an agreement with The Narwhal. It was originally published in The Narwhal, a non-profit online magazine that publishes in-depth journalism about the natural world in Canada. Sign up for weekly updates at thenarwhal.ca/newsletter.
Shannon Waters, The Narwhal
