Premier David Eby is aware that legislation fast-tracking energy and infrastructure projects has caused a "significant amount of anxiety" among B.C.'s Indigenous communities, but promises projects will not go through on Crown land without First Nations consent.
The premier gave a keynote address on Thursday, June 19, during the Indigenous Resource Opportunities Conference at Nanaimo's Vancouver Island Conference Centre.
"I don't believe practically in British Columbia in the year 2025 that we can fast-track without full Indigenous co-operation and support on the project, because we made commitments under the Declaration of Rights of Indigenous People that we passed," Eby said.
Bill 14, the renewable energy projects (streamlined permitting) act, provides for regulation of renewable energy projects by the British Columbia Energy Regulator, while Bill 15, the infrastructure projects act, creates designations for fast-tracking certain infrastructure projects.
"The history of government, when the government says, 'We need to move faster in British Columbia, we need to move faster in Canada', the history is that means we need to ignore Indigenous people," he told the audience. "We push them out of the way, we re-locate them, ignore their concerns."
Eby promised that "nothing could be further from the truth" when it comes to Bill 14 and 15. In speaking about the need for Bill 15, he gave the example of a school which was delayed a year due to the municipal building permit needing to be issued.
"On private-sector projects, one of the most challenging conversations I have is on Indigenous-led projects where the proponents are saying, 'Hey, can't you guys move faster, we want to get this thing going.' And we have to say, 'We can't find that path to get it approved faster through our own system."
Also during his address, the premier applauded Nak鈥檃zdli Development Corporation's Deadwood Innovations, which turns traditionally low-value timber into premium high-quality lumber products, and credited project partners on B.C. Hydro's "call for power" procurement process for clean and renewable energy.
"Every single one of those [call for power] projects are almost 50 per cent owned by Indigenous people; nine of the 10 are majority Indigenous owned," he pointed out. "This is a demonstration of how we can empower our economy, do it in partnership and do it in a way that lifts everybody."
Eby's remarks came about a week after returning from a trade mission which included stops in Japan, Malaysia and South Korea. He told the crowd that "British Columbia is going to be the economic engine of Canada going forward," for a number of reasons.
"One is this experience I just had in Asia, hearing first-hand from these countries how important our partnerships [are] with them and the major projects they're working on with us," Eby said. "The second reason is obviously our geography, access to the ports, the ability to face about two-thirds of the world's population out of our ports here in British Columbia."
In addition, Eby cited strong partnerships with other provinces and territories to move goods to the international market, and the resource-rich nature of the province.
"But most importantly it's the people of British Columbia, and in this room, I want you to know that I know that none of this vision will be realized without strong partnerships with Indigenous people."
Following his speech, Eby joined a discussion with Dallas Smith, president of Nanwakolas Council, on Indigenous-led economic development. During these discussions, the premier supported a unified framework for the province when working with Indigenous communities on resource opportunities, including energy, mining and forestry.
"That's our responsibility, we need to work with nations to come up with those frameworks鈥�" the premier said. "We need to have a consistent approach from our side so we're not creating divisions, but also so everyone knows going in what is available."
