The influence of Indigenous’ interests on British Columbia’s natural resources sector is expanding at a rapid pace. …The BC government’s [2021] Modernizing Forest Policy intentions paper conveyed a goal “to increase the amount of ‘replaceable’ forest tenure held by Indigenous peoples to 20% from the current level of approximately 10%. …A March 2023 analysis by the Spar Tree Group, showed that the total amount of tenure held by First Nations organizations had decreased by 7% to 9.7 million m3, but the amount of replaceable tenure increased by 6% to 7.3 million m3. …With ongoing reductions to AAC in various regions of the province, comparing the absolute totals may not be the best way to monitor progress.

Over the last year and half there have been two significant developments in regard to industry agreeing to sell or dispose of tenure to First Nations. The first is Canfor’s announced intentions to sell its Mackenzie area tenure to two local First Nations. The second is due to Interfor’s potential tenure transactions with several First Nations. …If those pending tenure dispositions occur, it would mean that industry is moving ahead with tenure diversification without government intervention… and the estimate of replaceable tenure held by First Nations increases to 15.4%. …While the government’s vision for Indigenous held replaceable tenure has still to be fully achieved, it is apparent that the rising influence of First Nations extends well beyond that objective. As I have written many times before, if your business does not have a relationship with local First Nations, you may want to change that, because without such a relationship, your business’ supply chain may be at risk.