VICTORIA — The New Democrats have quietly launched public consultation on their plan to begin co-management of government-owned land with B.C.’s 204 First Nations. “The province wants to know your thoughts on sharing public land-use decision making,” says the call for submissions on the government website. “The government hopes to be able to negotiate agreements with Indigenous governments and begin sharing decision-making on public land use in the late spring of 2024″. The overseer Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship posted the call for submissions at Engage B.C. (engage.gov.bc.ca) earlier this month. The ministry did not publicize the invitation with a news release, suggesting the government is not all that keen to attract attention to the exercise. …The tight time frame, like the minimal publicity for the consultations, suggests the New Democrats have already made up their minds on how to proceed.