Mining Inspector Not Required To Consider Climate Change In Granting Permit For Rock Quarry

In Highlands District Community Association v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 2021 BCCA 232,  the BC Court of Appeal reviewed a decision of the BC Mines Inspector to grant a permit to O.K. Industries Ltd. to operate a rock quarry located in the District of Highlands, a community northwest of Victoria, BC. The Highlands District Community Association ("HDCA"), a society which aims to represent the interests of residents of the Highlands, sought judicial review of the decision, arguing that the Inspector's decision was unreasonable because the Inspector failed to consider the climate change impacts of the quarry. The chambers judge refused to overturn the Inspector's decision (see 2020 BCSC 2135).