2021 saw a number of significant Aboriginal law and policy
developments with implications for the energy sector in Canada.
This includes several court decisions that could affect project
consultation requirements or provide a new basis to challenge
certain projects. It also includes further steps by the BC and
federal governments to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples and continued uncertainty around how this
will impact project-decision making by these governments as
discussed below.
CUMULATIVE IMPACTS HALT DEVELOPMENT IN NORTHEASTERN BC
The most significant Aboriginal law decision for project
development in 2021 was Yahey v. British
Columbia.¹ In this case, the BC Supreme Court ruled that
the BC government has unjustifiably infringed the treaty rights of
the Blueberry River First Nations (Blueberry) through the
cumulative effects of provincially authorized industrial
development over the last several decades. The Court declared
