A BC Supreme Court judge has set aside the Minister of Forests’ approval of the Skeena Sawmills forest licence transfer to a numbered company owned by the Kitsumkalum First Nation. …In a Jan. 7 decision, Justice Matthew Kirchner agreed with the nine hereditary chiefs that the province failed in its legal duty to consult and accommodate Gitanyow when it approved the licence transfer to 1355387 BC Ltd. …The matter will be returned to the minister to reconsider after proper consultation, Kirchner said, “assuming Kitsumkalum still wishes to pursue the approval of the licence transfer.” Skeena Sawmills was offered for sale by a court-appointed receiver after the company’s 2023 bankruptcy. …Kirchner found it unnecessary to consider the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) in this case, because neither materially impacted the depth of consultation required.