Opinion: The province risked a backlash when it did not announce its intentions by news release or any other public process
VICTORIA — While the New Democrats launched their consultation on changes to the Land Act without letting the public in on the secret, they did alert some corporations, industry associations and other interest groups.
The government released a list of those preferred “stakeholders” on Thursday.
Nathan Cullen, the presiding minister of water, land and resource stewardship, had promised to make it available last week.
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The names of those in the know included some of the biggest corporations in the province: Telus, Rogers, Bell, Fortis and B.C. Hydro.
The invitations went to many of the industry associations: B.C. Business Council, Council of Forest Industries, Petroleum Producers, Clean Energy B.C., Creative B.C., B.C. Salmon Farmers, Shellfish Growers, B.C. Cattlemen, B.C. Stone, Sand and Gravel, Adventure Tourism Coalition, Guide Outfitters, Canada West Ski Areas, and Boating B.C.
The ministry also advised the Union of B.C. Municipalities and the Land Surveyors.
Those players should be consulted about the NDP proposal to amend the Land Act to enable co-management of Crown lands with Indigenous nations on the basis of consent.
However, the provincial government provoked suspicions when it did not announce its intentions by news release or any other broadly public process.
Cullen said last week that he regrets the lapse.
The failure not only undermined the process, it risked provoking a backlash toward Indigenous people.
This week the minister has been promoting the consultations, albeit mostly with the same groups that were invited to join in the first place.
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“Met with 90 people representing outdoor recreation businesses in B.C.,” Cullen announced Tuesday on the social media platform X.
“Thanks for the excellent conversations into how we work together to create more opportunities for people and communities. This follows important meetings with ranchers, oil and gas and many others.”
His ministry added more detail.
“In addition to the original outreach, we have broadened and deepened our engagement on the proposed Land Act amendments,” it said by email.
Cullen and ministry executives “have been conducting in-depth conversations” with the forest industry, petroleum producers, tourism operators, cattlemen and mineral explorers.
“More than 430 people have attended these sessions. More organizations have been invited, and those meetings will be happening soon.”
For members of the public who did not get an invitation, the main option for feedback remains the Engage B.C. website. The government accepts written submissions only.
Cullen also flagged a supportive statement from Geoff Plant, who served as attorney general under B.C. Liberal Premier Gordon Campbell.
Plant began the posting on his Plant Rant blog with “putting aside the question whether the government has done a good job of introducing the topic,” which strikes me as missing the point regarding much of the backlash.
He went on to argue that the New Democrats are on the right track in amending the Land Act to enable joint management agreements with First Nations.
“A welcome initiative,” wrote Plant. He says it is necessitated by the Canadian Constitution, a succession of court decisions and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, for which the legislature unanimously enacted supporting legislation in 2019.
Also pushing back against the critics this week was Doug White, special legal counsel to Premier David Eby on Indigenous reconciliation.
White linked his X account to a commentary in the Victoria Times Colonist that in his view, provided “real information, context to counteract the mis- and disinformation on the land act amendments.”
The author was lawyer Roshan Danesh, special adviser on reconciliation to Jody Wilson-Raybould when she was federal justice minister.
Danesh characterized the controversy over the proposed changes to the Land Act as “much ado about nothing” and “small steps on a long path.”
The amendments would merely allow the government to enter into joint management agreements, he argued. The agreements will still have to be negotiated, vetted, aired publicly, and approved.
Danesh didn’t help his case by saying the NDP government was “doing public engagement on amendments to the Land Act,” without acknowledging that the government had — by its own belated admission — neglected to engage the public.
Cullen, having acknowledged his failings, now says he’s keen to address public concerns.
“Hey, I’ve got no trouble,” he told Mike Smyth on CKNW this week.
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