Implementing UNDRIP: B.C.’s Land Act Reform Sparks Public Debate

By Roy Millen, Sam Adkins and Nicholas Tollefson
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
February 16, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The B.C. government is consulting the public on reforms to the Land Act to facilitate shared decision-making under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). The Land Act deals with how public land is used and covers tens of thousands of tenures on public land. …As we approach the five-year anniversary of DRIPA, there are now several examples of mechanisms for shared decision-making with Indigenous governments on land and resource use in B.C.  …The debate and public reaction to the reforms under the Land Act point to the larger question of how the province is approaching shared decision-making in British Columbia, whether under DRIPA or otherwise. …Reconciliation also requires transparency for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples alike, to advance mutual prosperity. By providing structure and clarity for shared decision-making agreements, the province could advance these two important objectives. 

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