https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
The B.C. government has scrapped its plans to amend the Land Act in the spring legislative session, changes that would have allowed joint decision-making with Indigenous communities about public land, after a hasty public consultation process prompted a widespread backlash.
“This touched a nerve,” said Nathan Cullen, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, who announced the policy retreat on Wednesday after a cabinet meeting. “The path that we are on is the path that we will maintain. The pace at which we do it is an important issue that was raised by hunting and fishing organizations, by resource groups – and we listened.”
The Land Act governs access and use of public land, which accounts for 94 per cent of the province, and there are roughly 40,000 active tenures, permits and licences for activities and infrastructure on it, such as forestry and transmission towers. The proposed amendments would have created a legal mechanism to allow British Columbia and First Nations to establish joint statutory authority over new projects on public land.
In January, the province posted a public engagement forum online, and then reached out to some of the major stakeholders that rely on Crown land, such as the forest industry and ranchers, to outline its intent.
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