UPCOMING EVENTS
BC Environment Industry News
Carney leans on private money, alternative approaches in nature strategy. Will it work?
Plan will give credit to non-governmental efforts to conserve lands
APRIL 8, 2026 – Canada has only four years left to reach its ambitious goals to protect 30 per cent of its lands and oceans by 2030. That’s about double what’s protected right now, which means the government is trying to speed up the work. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new nature strategy, released on Tuesday, leans heavily on two approaches that are raising some eyebrows: efforts to get businesses and investors to put private funding into conservation, and officially recognizing what are known as “other effective area-based conservation measures,” or OECM, which are areas that are protected by local communities and private groups.
Tla’amin Nation, B.C. enhance collaborative stewardship
B.C., Tla’amin Nation sign MOU to improve land, resource stewardship
BC GOV NEWS, APRIL 2, 2026 – The Government of British Columbia and Tla’amin Nation have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance collaborative stewardship actions in Tla’amin Nation territory, focusing on advancing key treaty commitments through a shared stewardship framework. The MOU, or the yiχmɛtštəm ʔəms gɩǰɛ Territorial Stewardship Action Plan, sets out how the B.C. government and Tla’amin Nation will work together to care for land and water, heritage resources, and Tla’amin wildlife harvesting rights in the region. In the Tla’amin language, yiχmɛtštəm ʔəms gɩǰɛ means “together we are taking care of the land.”
B.C. moving to alter environment assessments, codify how to involve U.S. tribes
THE NEWS, MARCH 31, 2026 – B.C. is moving to alter its environmental assessment process to front-load dispute resolution and codify how it deals with U.S. Indigenous groups with cross-border concerns. Environment and Parks Minister Tamara Davidson said the previous system, created in 2018, wasn’t working well enough for First Nations, industry or the assessment office itself. These amendments make the system work as intended and “enhance predictability” in the process, she said when introducing a bill in the legislature to make the changes.
Extraction or efficiency? Industry heads trade visions for B.C.’s energy future
Industry leaders pitch B.C.’s energy future, some weighing a massive LNG expansion—including up to six more LNG Canada-sized terminals—and others a shift toward ‘smart’ grids and power conservation
Solar project in B.C. Hydro’s call for power kicks off environmental review
The project, with the participation of Nlaka’pamux Nation member community Oregon Jack Creek, aims to build a 104 megawatt solar farm to deliver 216 gigawatt hours per year of electricity as part of B.C. Hydro’s 2024 call for power.
THE PROVINCE, FEBRUARY 20, 2026 – The only solar-power facility included in B.C. Hydro’s 2024 call for power has taken a step toward regulatory approval, but it won’t be under the fast-tracked regulatory process being established by the provincial government. Logan B.C. Solar Project LP was one of 10 independent power proposals to be awarded power purchase contracts in December, 2024, as part of the call for power. The deals were all approved as being in the public interest by the B.C. Utilities Commission last August.
Adding three mining projects to Critical Minerals Office
Early co-ordination accelerates regulatory processes for B.C.’s future major mines
BC GOV NEWS, FEBRUARY 20, 2026 – The Province has identified Northisle Copper and Gold Inc.’s North Island Project, Surge Copper Corp.’s Berg Project and Defense Metals Corp.’s Wicheeda Project to work with the Critical Minerals Office to support early co-ordination as the projects prepares for environmental assessment and future permitting processes. The Critical Minerals Office works with selected advanced project proponents to accelerate their permitting processes by helping co-ordinate First Nations and community engagement, identify regulatory requirements early, align permitting pathways and support readiness for future environmental-assessment and regulatory processes. This co-ordination supports projects in advancing through to operating mines through efficient processes and early preparedness without changing permitting standards or regulatory decisions.
Potential reopening of B.C.’s Eskay Creek mine could become ‘powerhouse’ for northern economy
The Mining Association of B.C. is touting the potential for 24 mine projects to help soften the blow of some 15,000 job losses in the forestry sector since 2022
THE VANCOUVER SUN, FEBRUARY 7, 2026 – News of another major mine inching closer to opening in B.C.’s northwest touched off a buzz in a region that has become more accustomed to absorbing job losses during a major downturn in the forestry sector. The mine proposal, Skeena Resources Ltd.’s project to reopen the mothballed Eskay Creek gold mine, would mean more than 1,000 construction jobs to convert the underground mine to open-pit operations, then some 770 permanent jobs to run the facility.
Squamish council calls for cumulative health impact studies on BC gas industry
Citing gaps in scientific data and growing community concern, local leaders in Squamish have voted unanimously to request an independent review into how B.C.’s booming natural gas sector may be affecting public health.
SQUAMISH CHIEF, FEBRUARY 5, 2026 – At its Feb. 3 meeting, Squamish council resolved to write to the provincial government and Health Canada calling on both to conduct an independent cumulative health impact assessment on the B.C. gas industry in alignment with the resolution passed by the Health Officers’ Council of BC in the fall of 2025.
Northern B.C. First Nations, advocates worry about environmental impacts of Yukon-BC grid connect
‘Some of these places are quite beautiful, quite sacred… there’s a real connection to some of these places’
CBC NEWS, FEBRUARY 3, 2026 – Some northern B.C. First Nations and conservationists are concerned that a project to connect the Yukon to B.C.’s power grid could help fuel a wave of development in pristine boreal forests and wetlands. The Yukon government has said the Yukon-B.C. grid connect project could bring up to $7.6 billion a year in economic growth, create up to 36,000 jobs and help electrify six diesel communities.
B.C. forestry review calls for system to be razed, rebuilt, with a focus on trust
GLOBAL NEWS, FEBRUARY 2, 2026 – A government-commissioned review of forestry in British Columbia is calling for the system to be razed and rebuilt with a focus on trust and transparency about the state of the province’s forests, shifting away “from managing harvest volumes to managing lands.” The final report from the Provincial Forestry Advisory Council says trust has been eroded by inconsistent forest data controlled largely by industry and government, and calls for the creation of a transparent forest inventory based on laser measurements with a new independent body to manage the information.
How B.C. LNG projects could benefit from referral to federal major projects office
The LNG Canada 2 and Ksi Lisims LNG projects don’t need the federal major projects office’s help with a fast-track to environmental approval but still see advantages in the streamlining of post-approval permitting.
VANCOUVER SUN, JANUARY 7, 2026 – Two liquefied natural gas development proposals on B.C.’s North Coast already had a lot going for them before they were referred for consideration under Prime Minister Mark Carney’s major projects office, which aims to accelerate “nation-building” projects. LNG Canada Phase 2, which proposes to double production at its Kitimat facility, and the Nisga’a Nation’s Ksi Lisims LNG, a proposal to build a floating LNG export facility 80 km north of Prince Rupert, already have environmental approvals. Both also have solid partners, potential investors and signed commercial agreements with prospective customers. To break ground, they just need their partners to pull the trigger on final investment decisions.
Oil spill reported near Nanaimo, B.C., ferry terminal
Up to 1,600 litres of oil sheen observed after spill, with oily material entering a City of Nanaimo culvert
CBC NEWS, JANUARY 7, 2026 – An oil spill reported near Nanaimo, B.C.’s Duke Point Ferry Terminal earlier this week has led to concerns for the surrounding marine environment and wildlife. The City of Nanaimo said in a briefing note that its staff were first notified of the spill on the afternoon of Jan. 5 and found a storm drain near the ferry terminal with oily residue. Staff said the spill originated from a private business, which handles used oil and battery recycling in the nearby industrial park.
B.C. approves extending life of Mt. Milligan copper-gold mine to 2035
CTV NEWS, JANUARY 5, 2026 – British Columbia’s Environmental Assessment Office says it has approved an extension for the life of the Mount Milligan copper and gold mine near Fort St. James into 2035. The province says an amendment to the mine’s environmental assessment certificate was approved after a “comprehensive” review of an application by the operator Thompson Creek Metal Company Ltd., a subsidiary of Toronto-based Centerra Gold. The Environmental Assessment Office says the approval allows the company to expand the mine’s area by 80 hectares, to boost its ore production by 6,500 tonnes per day and to increase the height of the mine’s tailings storage dam by more than 100 metres.
PREMIER MEMBERS
