File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds)

By Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Decisions about public land must be made in the public’s interest

Feb 8, 2024 | 7:30 PM

PUBLIC LAND BELONGS TO THE PUBLIC. It’s a simple concept and one that I am sure the vast majority of British Columbians agree with. We elect representatives to make land management decisions on our behalf, but in a democratic system, there is an understanding that those decisions will be made considering the public’s best interest.

Unfortunately, David Eby’s NDP government is currently in the process of rushing through changes to the Land Act that will have serious consequences to how public land is managed in B.C.

When the NDP introduced legislation to write the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) into B.C. law in 2019, they promised the public that this historic move would not amount to a veto. In fact, they are on the record promising this 17 times. Members of our BC Liberal, now BC United, caucus were assured the legislation would align with the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling that, while government has a duty to consult and — where required — accommodate First Nations, our constitution does not provide First Nations with veto power over public land.

Flash forward five years and David Eby’s NDP government is hastily making changes to the Land Act that would change the requirement for the provincial government to consider the public interest in questions of land use. Instead, government would enter into consent-based decision-making agreements with Indigenous governing bodies who will have no requirement to consider the needs of the wider public all the while effectively having de-facto veto power over these decisions. This will have profound impact over Crown land tenures potentially involving everything from access to recreation like fishing, hiking, and camping, to dock permits, licences of occupation, rights of way, and grazing and mining leases to name a few items.

These sweeping changes are being made without full transparency and with very little adequate public consultation. The NDP’s own materials even reveal they are in the process of drafting the legislation which will be finished before the consultation period had even concluded.

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What’s the point of consulting the public if you have no intention of considering their feedback?

Even worse, Eby plans to implement these massive changes quickly, with little opportunity to properly debate them in the upcoming spring session of the Legislature.

This is not how decisions should be made in B.C. People put trust in government to be transparent, to be accountable for their decision-making, and to consider what will benefit all British Columbians. To that end, we have laid out a clear plan for how we would approach this differently.

BC United’s plans include renaming ‘Crown Land’ to ‘Public Land’ to emphasize the crucial relationship between that land and the public interest, from the economy to recreation and so much more.

We will also ensure that all land management decisions are made by provincial representatives elected by the people acting in the public interest.

Finally, a BC United government will require transparency and timeliness in decision-making and full consultation about public land, ending the NDP’s pattern of secrecy and non-disclosure agreements on land use matters.

It’s also important to be clear that the blame for this mess lies with David Eby and the NDP, not First Nations who are simply doing the important work of acting in the best interests of their communities. BC United remains committed to meaningful reconciliation and true partnerships that will create more economic opportunities for First Nations.

That’s why we recently announced the innovative Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program, in addition to enhanced capacity building and leading roles in regulatory processes for First Nations, which we will implement should BC United form government in October. This builds upon the over 400 economic agreements that the previous BC Liberal (now BC United) government signed with First Nations, and the ambitious expansion of Independent Power Projects we launched also mostly partnered with First Nations.

The NDP is choosing once again to make divisive decisions behind closed doors. People should be able to trust that their government will always prioritize the best interest of all British Columbians and look for opportunities to bring everyone together in doing so. British Columbians deserve nothing less.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.