Facing growing backlash over the unintended consequences of its reconciliation policies, the B.C. NDP government has hit pause on controversial changes to the Heritage Conservation Act, a retreat that looks very different from the full-throttle approach it held just months ago.

Forests Minister Ravi Parmar announced the move Monday, saying he’d “heard loud and clear” that municipalities, business groups, the real estate sector and other concerned members of the public needed more time to understand the changes.

“It was very clear to me that I was not in a position to bring forward amendments this spring,” he said.

“I need a bit more time, to have not just more engagement, but focused conversations.”

It’s the opposite approach to where the NDP started on the file just four months ago, charging forward with the changes so aggressively that their passage—following secret negotiations with First Nations and non-disclosure agreements slapped on everyone else—seemed like a fait accompli.

But since then, the government has been rocked by two major court rulings, jeopardizing private property rights and the ability of B.C. laws to withstand challenges from the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

Public concern at the direction of reconciliation is rising, as is fatigue with the NDP’s approach. Premier David Eby has promised changes this spring, admitting public support risks dwindling if a rebalancing is not addressed.

The rewrite of the Heritage........

© BIV