Vaughn Palmer: The B.C. government’s defeat was doubly embarrassing because its lawyers had assured the court that the province had engaged in 'deep consultations' with the Gitanyow on the transfer

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VICTORIA — The NDP government has lost another court case to an Indigenous nation, this time for failing to properly consult over the transfer of a forest licence.

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B.C. Supreme Court Justice F. Matthew Kirchner set aside the transfer in a decision released this week.

He sent the matter back to the Forests Ministry with an order to “reconsider after proper consultations” with the complainant, Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs.

The timber-cutting rights were stranded after the bankruptcy of Skeena Sawmills. The company’s assets were acquired by the Kitsumkalum First Nation, which asked the government to transfer the forest tenure as well.

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The Gitanyow opposed the transfer because the forest covered by the licence was within their traditional territory, over which they were already in court claiming Aboriginal........

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