Treaty 8 Nations to be involved in oil and gas development decisions

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Blueberry River First Nation (BRFN) and some other Treaty 8 nations will reportedly have more of a say in oil and gas development occurring in their communities after signing a “historic” agreement with the province.

BRFN Chief Judy Desjarlais, Premier David Eby, and multiple ministers announced the agreement in Prince George on Wednesday afternoon.

The agreement contained some measures specific to oil and gas, including an annual 750-hectare limit on new disturbances from oil and gas activities in the BRFN claim area.

The ministry of energy said in a statement that it expects disturbance caps to adjust and rules may be changed to support more development in the area but adds that it won’t happen without BRFN approval.

“Blueberry’s consent is required to authorize activities that exceed the disturbance cap or that don’t comply with new agreement rules that direct how and where oil and gas development occurs until detailed planning processes are completed,” the ministry said.

Desjarlais told Energeticcity the agreement means that the band can now begin to address the cumulative impacts to the land as a result of decades of unchecked industrial development.

“These new protection measures for land and resource stewardship in our territory will ensure our treaty rights will be protected now and for future generations,” Desjarlais stated.

“We have immediate continued protection measures in place while we do important planning and implementation work over the next three years,” she continued.

She added that the work to plan and implement the new framework announced on Wednesday will “heavily” involve the nation’s community.

Doig River Chief Trevor Makadahay told Energeticcity it was disappointing that Blueberry had to go through a cumulative impacts case after the province failed to uphold their end of Treaty 8.

“[The provincial government] never really did uphold their side of the treaty. I think it’s disappointing that we have to have court cases like the Blueberry court case. Nobody ever wants to go that way. Everybody should be sitting at the table and hashing it out together,” Makadahay said.

An announcement from the province about some of the other Treaty 8 nations is expected on Friday.

North Peace MLA Dan Davies told Energeticcity while he’s happy that BRFN and the province have reached an agreement — which he called long overdue — he hasn’t yet seen the agreement and likely won’t for weeks.

“It’s a great thing to see Indigenous communities playing a very active role in economic development and starting to see prosperity. But, we still have a ton of questions,” Davies said.

He added that he likely won’t be able to review the agreement until it’s released to the public in the coming weeks.

Going forward, the ministry of energy said BRFN, as a treaty rights holder, will be more involved with the province and stakeholders when it comes to oil and gas decisions.

“Blueberry will be at the table in partnership with the province and in consultation with stakeholders, in the new planning processes that will ultimately lay out the long-term framework that will guide future natural resource development activities in the Claim Area,” the ministry stated.