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ARTICLE · 26 JANUARY 2023

Blueberry River First Nations Implementation Agreement: A Pathway For Negotiating Cumulative Effects Claims

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On January 18, 2023, Blueberry River First Nations (BRFN) and the Province of British Columbia announced they reached an Implementation Agreement (Agreement).

CanadaGovernment, Public Sector
Jessica Buhler
Jessica Buhler
Rangi Jeerakathil
Rangi Jeerakathil
Erica Klassen
Erica Klassen
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On January 18, 2023, Blueberry River First Nations (BRFN) and the Province of British Columbia announced they reached an Implementation Agreement (Agreement). The two parties entered into the Agreement in response to the British Columbia Supreme Court's 2021 decision in Yahey v British Columbia, which found that the cumulative effects of industrial development authorized by the Province unjustifiably infringed BRFN's Treaty rights.

This Agreement provides a pathway for First Nations and provincial governments to resolve future cumulative effects claims through negotiation rather than going through a judicial process.

2021 British Columbia Supreme Court Decision

The Yahey decision was the first time a Canadian court found that the cumulative effects of Crown conduct were an infringement of Treaty rights. The Court's main findings were:

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