BC Minister of Environment Reverses Amendment to Reviewable
Projects Regulation on Sweet Gas Processing Plants
Fort Nelson First Nation puts Government on notice for upstream LNG development
On April 14, 2014, the BC Government issued Order in Council (No. 185) amending the Reviewable Projects Regulation (B.C. Reg 370/2000) to remove the need for a provincial environmental assessment for sweet natural gas processing plants (the Proposed Amendment). The Proposed Amendment, which was to come into effect on April 28, 2014, would have had significant implications for upstream activities, especially in northeast BC where shale gas development is rapidly underway.

Following a public outcry in response to the Proposed Amendment by the Chief of the Fort Nelson First Nation (FNFN), Environment Minister Mary Polak publicly apologized for failing to adequately consult with First Nations prior to approving the Proposed Amendment and announced that the BC Government would rescind the Proposed Amendment [and] proceed to undertake discussions with First Nations before proceeding with the regulatory change. Read full article by Selina Lee-Andersen with McCarthy Tetrault. 

Joint Review Panel Delivers Site C Dam Report
to Federal and Provincial Governments
Arlene Boone, a third-generation farmer near the Peace River, said [May 1] she is "sitting on pins and needles" awaiting a decision on BC Hydro's Site C dam.

"Our livelihood is on the line," said Boone, whose 200 hectares would be affected by the $7.9-billion dam. "It's a really important time in our lives."

The Joint Review Panel reviewing Site C dam submitted its report [May 1] to the federal and provincial governments. The report will be publicly released on May 8 on websites of both the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and BC's Environmental Assessment Office project information centre.

Boone said that since the province is already on record wanting Site C, the fate of the project largely rests with the federal government and whether it accepts the panel report's recommendations. The two governments have up to six months to make their decisions. Read the Vancouver Sun article. 

Environmental Appeal Board Decisions
A number of Environmental Appeal Board decisions were released in the month of April. These include the following:

• Wildlife Act – Neil T. Findlay v. Deputy Regional Manager, Recreational Fisheries and Wildlife Program [Final Decision – Appeal Dismissed] 
• Wildlife Act – Chris Condie v. Regional Manager, Recreational Fisheries and Wildlife Program (Thompson/Okanagan Region) [Final Decision – Appeal Dismissed]
• Wildlife Act – Chris Condie v. Regional Manager, Recreational Fisheries and Wildlife Program (Cariboo Region) [Final Decision – Appeal Dismissed]
• Environmental Management Act – Lynda Gagne; Charles Henry Claus; Skeena Wild Conservation Trust; Lakelse Watershed Stewards Society v. Director, Environmental Management Act [Reconsideration of a Preliminary Issue of Standing to Appeal – Appeals Dismissed]  

The 'Honour of the Crown' in the BC Forest Industry
The Haida decision represents the Supreme Court of Canada's seminal discussion on the Crown's duty to consult with and accommodate First Nations who claim Aboriginal rights or title, but have yet to establish those rights or title in court or through treaty. A recent decision of the BC Supreme Court indicates that, ten years on, we are still muddling our way through the aftermath.

Moulton Contracting Ltd. v. British Columbia concerned various claims that the plaintiff logging contractor advanced against the Province of British Columbia, the Fort Nelson First Nation (the "Band"), and particular members of the Band. The dispute concerned two Timber Sale Licenses (TSLs) that the Province had awarded to the plaintiff, but that the plaintiff was unable to harvest on account of a blockade that various Band members erected upon an access road. The blockade reflected the Band members' unhappiness over the Province's consultation efforts with respect to a major amendment made to a forest development plan on account of the TSLs. Read the full article by Jeff Waatainen with Davis LLP. 

Water Use in BC: Water Pricing Debate
Generates Widely Differing Views
The Province's discussion paper Pricing B.C.'s Water has garnered a wide range of opinions since being released in March. As part of the public consultation effort regarding the new Water Sustainability Act (now at [3^rd] reading in the legislature), the public was given until April 8 to provide its views on water pricing and the Province's water pricing principles.

Although broad in scope, the water-pricing consultation excluded fees and rentals for hydroelectric purposes, by far the biggest source of water fees and rentals for the Province (although as part of its 10-Year Rate Plan for BC Hydro the Province has said it will eliminate the highest level of water rentals in 2019 in regard to annual energy output in excess of 3000 GWh). Also excluded, by implication, are water utility rates under the Water Utility Act. Read the full article by Jeff Christian with Lawson Lundell. 

WorkSafeBC Head Says Changes Will Come Quickly
Gord Macatee, the new administrator of WorkSafeBC, will tour sawmills and other high-risk workplaces early next month to get a grip on the changes needed to restore confidence in the beleaguered worker-protection agency.

WorkSafeBC is under fire after failing to secure charges in the deaths of four workers in two separate sawmill explosions months apart. The families and survivors of the two mill incidents are demanding a public inquiry, but the provincial government instead appointed Mr. Macatee to lead a restructuring. Read the Globe And Mail article.