Making Decisions Together
Section 7 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (Declaration Act) enables the Province and Indigenous governing bodies to enter into agreements that recognize Indigenous decision-making with the provincial statutory decision-making framework.
These agreements outline the processes for joint or consent-based statutory decision-making while clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the Province and the Indigenous governing body.
The intent of these agreements is to provide certainty and stability in statutory decision-making and to recognize and implement Indigenous jurisdiction as part of B.C.’s decision-making process.
On June 6, 2022, the Province and the Tahltan Central Government announced the finalization of the first decision-making agreement under the Declaration Act. The agreement honours the Tahltan’s role in land and resource management and provides clarity and predictability for the Eskay Creek Mine revitalization project, which is in Tahltan territory. The agreement sets out a collaborative process related to the environmental assessment of the project.
The Province has a variety of agreements with First Nations and Indigenous organizations that include non-statutory decision-making.
