BC Court Says Indigenous Rights Must Be Considered in Montney Shale Regulations

A British Columbia (BC) trial court has directed the provincial government to build Indigenous rights into strengthened regulation of the Montney Shale region, but stopped short of handing out injunctions that would have halted natural gas supply development.

After a six-year review of cumulative effects on the Blueberry River First Nations that included a 160-day trial, Judge Emily Burke granted legal “declarations” that demand recognition of rights violations and action to prevent more damage.

The declarations say the province broke Canada’s 1899 Treaty 8 with tribes across a region covering northern BC and Alberta that is bigger than France. Blueberry’s 15,200-square-mile traditional territory includes the production heartland of the Montney formation.

“The...