By Joel McKay
After six years of work and a $65 million exploration tab, First Coal Corp. has been effectively shut down thanks to the province’s failure to properly consult with First Nations.
Last week, the B.C. Court of Appeal upheld a ruling that the province failed to adequately consult with the West Moberly First Nations when it allowed First Coal to explore for minerals in an endangered caribou habitat in northeast B.C.
Doug Smith said the ruling effectively voids its provincially issued exploration and bulk sampling permits.
“What the decision … means is we have basically begun to curtail our activities on the site,” said Smith, president and CEO of the private Vancouver-based company.
The decision upholds a 2010 B.C. Supreme Court ruling that imposed a 90-day suspension on First Coal’s exploration permit.
The province then appealed the ruling, and later announced a plan to protect the local caribou herd.
At issue are the Burnt Pine caribou, a herd that consists of only 11 animals.
In a 2-1 decision, chief justice Lance Finch ruled the “Crown failed to consult adequately and meaningfully” with the West Moberly and that “the amended bulk sampling permit and the advanced exploration permit be stayed pending meaningful consultation.”
The decision has left First Coal worse off than it was following the 2010 B.C. Supreme Court ruling.
Smith said the company has cancelled plans for a $15 million exploration program that would have employed up to 55 people this summer.
“Basically it puts us back at square one as far as where we are with our project,” he said. “We are really caught in the middle of this.”
Although a private company has spearheaded the project, the duty to consult with First Nations rests with the Crown. Unfortunately, legal experts say the province’s consultation rules are somewhat vague (see “Murky consultation rules tough on business and B.C. aboriginals” – issue 1115, March 8-14).
West Moberly chief Roland Willson said getting the government to properly consult with First Nations is an ongoing challenge.
“Just about every court case … about First Nations issues has got to do with consultation and the lack of consultation,” Willson said.
Aside from First Coal, he said Victoria’s recent decision to proceed with the proposed $7.9 billion Site C hydroelectric dam is yet another example of poor consultation.
“When they come to the table already [and have already] predetermined what the outcome is, that’s not consultation,” Willson said. “Consultation is listening to what we have to say, taking those things into consideration and actually making changes that suit the needs of the First Nations.”
Willson said he’s not opposed to First Coal mining in the northeast, but he doesn’t want it to come at the expense of an endangered caribou herd.
First Coal has also said it’s committed to conserving and protecting caribou foraging habitats near its projects.
“We believe that we can work and recover the resources as well as protect the caribou and that’s what we’ve been working toward,” said Smith.
The company plans to continue working with First Nations to come to an agreement on the project.