Amid new infrastructure bills, First Nations are concerned about the environment and their rights
CBC
A lawyer in British Columbia says three recent bills that aim to fast-track infrastructure and energy projects are deeply flawed and could face legal challenges.
B.C.'s Bill 15, the Infrastructure Projects Act, is aimed at fast-tracking public sector projects like schools and hospitals, as well as private projects, such as critical mineral mines, that are deemed provincially significant.
Bill 14, the Renewable Energy Projects (Streamlined Permitting) Act, aims to speed up clean energy projects across the province.
The federal Bill C-5 aims to remove interprovincial trade barriers while another, more controversial, part of the law aims to speed up projects of national interest, including energy development projects, by allowing special "designated projects" to bypass some federal laws.
"My prediction is that eventually we are going to find all three pieces of legislation in the courts," said Hugh Braker, a B.C. lawyer who sits on the First Nations Summit's political executive.
He said First Nations in B.C. are particularly concerned about mining and pipeline developments being pushed through their territories without consent.
"First Nations people don't have the money for these court cases, but neither do they have the luxury of sitting back and not doing anything about it," he said.
He said that First Nations oppose the power to pursue infrastructure and energy projects without proper consultation or environmental assessments.
The controversial bills are now law despite pushback from environmental groups and several First Nations.
Braker said the Supreme Court of Canada, through numerous court cases, has affirmed that First Nations have a right to be consulted, and proper consultation with nations on the bills did not take place.
Bowinn Ma, the Minister of Infrastructure in B.C., said in an email to CBC News that the provincial government is fully committed to its obligations under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), which mandates the province to align laws with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
"I acknowledge that our engagement process for the Infrastructure Projects Act [Bill 15] was shorter than we would have liked," Ma said. "But I want to be very clear, the Act can't be used to shortcut Indigenous participation or reduce environmental standards."
Bill C-5 grants the Carney government and future governments the authority to exempt pipelines, mines and other infrastructure projects from government regulation.
Near the end of the 18-page bill, it states that cabinet can exempt national-interest projects from environmental laws.
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