Canada - January 2023

In western Canada, agreements between Indigenous Nations and stakeholders will increase the former’s participation in decision-making regarding development projects that directly impact their resources and lands. The Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi ‘it (YQT) community from British Columbia and mining company NWP Coal Canada have agreed that the former’s leadership will be able to veto and act as regulator of a development project involving a proposed metallurgical coalmine, valued at 400 million Canadian dollars. 

Also in British Columbia, the Blueberry River First Nations community and the provincial government agreed to strengthen protections to the environment and restrictions to extraction projects, as well as the establishment of a restoration fund to address the impact of the extraction industry in the Indigenous Nation’s lands. 

Sources: The Guardian, Government of British Columbia