The regional government and Blueberry River First Nations have come to a historic contract. The contract will guide the two things in a partnership approach to land, water and resource stewardship that make sure Blueberry River members can expressively exercise their Treaty 8 rights, and offer stability and probability in the region.
“This contract provides a clear trail to get the hard work started on healing and restoring the land, and start on the joint planning with strong standards to protect ecosystems, wildlife habitat and old forests,” said Chief Judy Desjarlais of the Blueberry River First Nations.
“With the knowledge and leadership of our Elders, this new contract will make sure there will be healthy land and resources for existing and future generations to continue our people’s way of life.”
The Blueberry River First Nations Enactment Agreement responds to a BC Supreme Court decision from June 29th, 2021, that found the province had infringed upon the Blueberry River’s Treaty 8 rights due to the increasing impacts of decades of industrial development.
“I’ve continuously believed that cooperation, rather than lawsuit, is the way forward for achieving reconciliation and strengthening vital government-to-government relationships,” said Premier David Eby.
“This important agreement between British Columbia and Blueberry River First Nations not only brings more expected for the area and local economy but it helps make sure that we are operating on the land in partnership to make sure sustainability for future generations.”
This contract will change how the Province and First Nations steward land, water and capitals together, and address increasing effects in the Blueberry River’s Claim Area through repair to heal the land, new areas protected from industrial growth, and restraint on development doings while a long-term increasing effects management government is implemented.
Furthermore, it will support and advances the Province’s climate change plan.
Achieving these goals will be carried out through a series of measures, including:
a $200-million restoration fund by June 2025, which supports healing of the land from decades of legacy industrial disturbance;
an ecosystem-based management approach for future land-use planning in Blueberry River’s most culturally important areas, with ambitious timelines to complete new local and watershed level, land use plans;
limits on new petroleum and natural gas (PNG) development and a new planning regime for future oil and gas activities;
protections for old forest and traplines during and through planning;
land protections in Blueberry River’s high-value areas, which includes more than 650,000 hectares of protection from new PNG and forestry activities and will advance B.C.’s 30% land protections goal by 2030; and
wildlife co-management efforts, including moose management through licensed hunter restrictions to support population recovery.
The Blueberry River First Nations will also receive $87.5 million as a financial package over three years, with an opportunity for increased benefits based on PNG revenue sharing and provincial royalty revenues in the next two fiscal years.
