Draft:Gitxaała v. British Columbia

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{{short description|2025 British Columbia Court of Appeal decision on mineral claims and UNDRIP}}

'''''Gitxaała v. British Columbia (Chief Gold Commissioner)''''' is a 2025 decision of the [[British Columbia Court of Appeal]] concerning the province's mineral claim system, British Columbia's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, and the legal effect of the [[United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples]] (UNDRIP) in British Columbia.{{cite web |title=Supreme Court of Canada - 42200 |url=https://www.scc-csc.ca/cases-dossiers/search-recherche/42200/ |website=Supreme Court of Canada |access-date=2026-04-22}}{{cite web |title=Gitxaala Nation and Ehattesaht First Nation challenge B.C. mineral tenure regime |url=https://bchumanrights.ca/inquiries-and-cases/cases/case/legal-interventions-gitxaala-and-ehattesaht-first-nations-challenge-mineral-tenure-regime/ |website=BC's Office of the Human Rights Commissioner |access-date=2026-04-22}} In a split 2-1 ruling released on December 5, 2025, the court allowed the appeals of the Gitxaała Nation and the Ehattesaht First Nation and held that British Columbia's standing mineral claims regime was inconsistent with Article 32(2) of UNDRIP.{{cite web |title=UNDRIP in Action: British Columbia Court of Appeal Issues Decision in Gitxaała v. British Columbia (Chief Gold Commissioner) |url=https://www.fasken.com/en/knowledge/2025/12/undrip-in-action |website=Fasken |date=2025-12-05 |access-date=2026-04-22}}

==Background==
The case arose from a challenge to British Columbia's former "free-entry" mineral tenure system, under which mineral claims could be registered without prior consultation with affected Indigenous nations.{{cite web |title=Gitxaala Nation and Ehattesaht First Nation challenge B.C. mineral tenure regime |url=https://bchumanrights.ca/inquiries-and-cases/cases/case/legal-interventions-gitxaala-and-ehattesaht-first-nations-challenge-mineral-tenure-regime/ |website=BC's Office of the Human Rights Commissioner |access-date=2026-04-22}} In September 2023, the [[Supreme Court of British Columbia]] held that the province had a duty to consult, but did not accept that British Columbia's Declaration Act made UNDRIP directly justiciable in the way argued by the petitioners.{{cite web |title=Gitxaala Nation and Ehattesaht First Nation challenge B.C. mineral tenure regime |url=https://bchumanrights.ca/inquiries-and-cases/cases/case/legal-interventions-gitxaala-and-ehattesaht-first-nations-challenge-mineral-tenure-regime/ |website=BC's Office of the Human Rights Commissioner |access-date=2026-04-22}}{{cite web |title=UNDRIP in Action: British Columbia Court of Appeal Issues Decision in Gitxaała v. British Columbia (Chief Gold Commissioner) |url=https://www.fasken.com/en/knowledge/2025/12/undrip-in-action |website=Fasken |date=2025-12-05 |access-date=2026-04-22}}

Gitxaała Nation and Ehattesaht First Nation appealed this decision. The appeal was heard in January 2025.{{cite web |title=Gitxaala Nation and Ehattesaht First Nation challenge B.C. mineral tenure regime |url=https://bchumanrights.ca/inquiries-and-cases/cases/case/legal-interventions-gitxaala-and-ehattesaht-first-nations-challenge-mineral-tenure-regime/ |website=BC's Office of the Human Rights Commissioner |access-date=2026-04-22}}

==Decision==
On December 5, 2025, the Court of Appeal overturned the lower court on the Declaration Act issue.{{cite web |title=Gitxaala Nation and Ehattesaht First Nation challenge B.C. mineral tenure regime |url=https://bchumanrights.ca/inquiries-and-cases/cases/case/legal-interventions-gitxaala-and-ehattesaht-first-nations-challenge-mineral-tenure-regime/ |website=BC's Office of the Human Rights Commissioner |access-date=2026-04-22}} According to summaries of the ruling, the majority held that the Declaration Act incorporates UNDRIP into British Columbia law and that related rights may be litigated in court.{{cite web |title=Gitxaala Nation and Ehattesaht First Nation challenge B.C. mineral tenure regime |url=https://bchumanrights.ca/inquiries-and-cases/cases/case/legal-interventions-gitxaala-and-ehattesaht-first-nations-challenge-mineral-tenure-regime/ |website=BC's Office of the Human Rights Commissioner |access-date=2026-04-22}} The court also declared that the province's mineral claims regime was inconsistent with Article 32(2) of UNDRIP.{{cite web |title=UNDRIP in Action: British Columbia Court of Appeal Issues Decision in Gitxaała v. British Columbia (Chief Gold Commissioner) |url=https://www.fasken.com/en/knowledge/2025/12/undrip-in-action |website=Fasken |date=2025-12-05 |access-date=2026-04-22}}

The decision was described as an important interpretation of British Columbia's Declaration Act and of the relationship between provincial law and UNDRIP.{{cite web |title=Lessons from Gitxaala v. British Columbia (Chief Gold Commissioner): Realigning mining reform with Indigenous rights, and climate and environmental goals |url=https://ccli.ubc.ca/lessons-from-gitxaala-v-british-columbia-chief-gold-commissioner-realigning-mining-reform-with-indigenous-rights-and-climate-and-environmental-goals/ |website=Canada Climate Law Initiative |date=2026-02-23 |access-date=2026-04-22}}

==Aftermath==
While the litigation was ongoing, British Columbia developed a new Mineral Claims Consultation Framework, which took effect on March 26, 2025. Under the framework, the province must consult First Nations before registering new mineral claims.{{cite web |title=Mineral Claims Consultation Framework - BC Gov News |url=https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2025MCM0001-000257 |website=Government of British Columbia |date=2025-03-26 |access-date=2026-04-22}}

In February 2026, British Columbia sought leave to appeal the Court of Appeal decision to the [[Supreme Court of Canada]]. As of April 22, 2026, the leave application was still before the court.{{cite web |title=Supreme Court of Canada - 42200 |url=https://www.scc-csc.ca/cases-dossiers/search-recherche/42200/ |website=Supreme Court of Canada |access-date=2026-04-22}}

==References==
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