BILL 15 – 2026
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AMENDMENT ACT, 2026

HIS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

1 Section 1 of the Environmental Assessment Act, S.B.C. 2018, c. 51, is amended

(a) by repealing the definition of "dispute resolution facilitator" and substituting the following:

"dispute resolution facilitator" means an individual to whom a dispute is referred under section 18.5 (6); ,

(b) by adding the following definitions:

"issue resolution protocol" means a written protocol entered into as a result of the discussions described in section 18.1 (3) or (4);

"leadership table" means a forum under which one or more senior representatives of the office and one or more representatives of a participating Indigenous nation may meet for the purposes of

(a) discussing matters that are escalated to the leadership table by a technical table, and

(b) attempting to achieve consensus respecting those matters; ,

(c) by repealing the definition of "participating Indigenous nation" and substituting the following:

"participating Indigenous nation" means an Indigenous nation that

(a) provides notice to the chief executive assessment officer under section 14 (1),

(b) is not a United States tribe, and

(c) has not, in relation to a project, been provided a notice by the chief executive assessment officer under section 14 (2); , and

(d) by adding the following definitions:

"technical table" means a forum under which one or more representatives of the office and one or more representatives of a participating Indigenous nation may meet for the purposes of discussing and attempting to achieve consensus respecting matters of a technical nature;

"United States Federal Register" means the official daily journal of the government of the United States in which presidential documents, notices and the proposed and final rules of United States federal agencies are published;

"United States list" means the most recent list published by the United States Secretary of the Interior in the United States Federal Register under section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (United States), as that list is updated from time to time;

"United States tribe" means the following:

(a) an entity set out in the United States list;

(b) an entity that is a member or part of an entity identified as a "confederation" or "council" in the United States list;

(c) a prescribed entity.

2 Section 5 is repealed.

3 Section 14 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by adding ", subject to subsection (1.1)," after "an Indigenous nation may", and

(b) by adding the following subsection:

(1.1) A United States tribe may not provide notice under subsection (1).

4 The following Parts are added:

Part 4.1 – Issue Resolution Protocols

Indigenous nation may provide notice indicating interest

18.1 (1) Subject to subsection (2), an Indigenous nation may provide notice to the chief executive assessment officer indicating an interest in entering into a written issue resolution protocol with the chief executive assessment officer respecting the assessment of a reviewable project specified in the notice.

(2) A notice under subsection (1) may not be provided

(a) if the assessment is in respect of an application for an amendment of an environmental assessment certificate, or

(b) by a United States tribe.

(3) If an Indigenous nation provides notice under subsection (1) of this section on the same day that the Indigenous nation provides notice under section 14 (1) respecting the assessment of the applicable reviewable project, the chief executive assessment officer must enter into discussions with the Indigenous nation respecting the terms of an issue resolution protocol applicable to the assessment of that project.

(4) If an Indigenous nation provides notice under subsection (1) of this section on a day other than the day on which the Indigenous nation provides notice under section 14 (1) respecting the assessment of the applicable reviewable project, the chief executive assessment officer may, but is not required to, enter into discussions with the Indigenous nation respecting the terms of an issue resolution protocol applicable to the assessment of that project.

(5) Subject to subsection (6), an issue resolution protocol must, at a minimum, include terms respecting

(a) the establishment of a technical table,

(b) the establishment of a leadership table, and

(c) a process for escalating matters of concern from the technical table to the leadership table.

(6) An issue resolution protocol must not include terms respecting section 17, 24 or 29 (4), (5), (6), (7) or (8).

(7) If the chief executive assessment officer and an Indigenous nation agree on the terms of an issue resolution protocol, the chief executive assessment officer must enter into the issue resolution protocol with the Indigenous nation.

(8) If the chief executive assessment officer decides not to enter into discussions under subsection (4), the chief executive assessment officer must provide written reasons to the Indigenous nation.

Non-derogation

18.2 For certainty, nothing in this Part or in Part 4.2, and nothing done under this Part or Part 4.2, abrogates or derogates from the rights recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

No limitation respecting remedies

18.3 Nothing in this Part or in Part 4.2 is to be taken as limiting any right a participating Indigenous nation may have to seek a remedy from a court.

Part 4.2 – Resolution of Disputes

Initiating and engaging in process of dispute resolution

18.4 (1) Subject to subsections (4) to (6), a participating Indigenous nation or the chief executive assessment officer may, by providing notice in accordance with subsection (3), indicate an interest in initiating a process of dispute resolution under this Part about any of the following matters as they relate to the assessment of a reviewable project:

(a) a notice provided by an Indigenous nation under section 14 (1);

(b) a pending decision of the chief executive assessment officer respecting the provision of a notice under section 14 (2);

(c) a pending decision of the chief executive assessment officer respecting the choice to be made under section 16 (2);

(d) a pending decision of the chief executive assessment officer respecting the issuance of a process order under section 19 (2).

(2) For the purposes of the resolution of disputes under this Part,

(a) the parties to a dispute respecting the matter described in subsection (1) (a) are

(i) the participating Indigenous nation that provided the notice under section 14 (1), and

(ii) the participating Indigenous nation that indicates an interest in initiating a process of dispute resolution respecting that notice, and

(b) the parties to a dispute respecting a matter described in subsection (1) (b), (c) or (d) are

(i) the participating Indigenous nation that indicates an interest in initiating a process of dispute resolution respecting the matter, and

(ii) the chief executive assessment officer.

(3) In order to indicate an interest in initiating a process of dispute resolution under this Part, the party that wishes to indicate that interest must provide written notice to the other party, which notice must specify at least the following:

(a) the name of the reviewable project;

(b) the applicable matter under subsection (1) (a) to (d);

(c) the substance of the dispute.

(4) A process of dispute resolution may not be initiated if

(a) the substance of the dispute does not relate to the reviewable project specified in the notice under subsection (3),

(b) the matter specified in the notice under subsection (3) was previously the subject of a process of dispute resolution between the same parties, or

(c) the substance of the dispute was not brought to the attention of the chief executive assessment officer by the participating Indigenous nation during attempts by the chief executive assessment officer to achieve consensus with the participating Indigenous nation respecting the matter.

(5) A process of dispute resolution may not be initiated respecting a pending decision described in subsection (1) (c) if

(a) the chief executive assessment officer intends to take the action described in section 16 (2) (a), or

(b) the pending decision was changed as the result of a previous process of dispute resolution initiated by any participating Indigenous nation.

(6) A process of dispute resolution may not be initiated respecting a pending decision described in subsection (1) (d) if the pending decision was changed as the result of a previous process of dispute resolution initiated by any participating Indigenous nation.

(7) If the chief executive assessment officer is not a party to a dispute, the participating Indigenous nation that provided the notice under subsection (3) must provide a copy of the notice to the chief executive assessment officer as soon as practicable.

(8) For certainty, the provisions of this Part apply whether or not an Indigenous nation and the chief executive assessment officer have agreed on the terms of an issue resolution protocol.

Parties to attempt to agree on terms respecting dispute resolution

18.5 (1) The parties to a dispute in respect of which notice is provided under section 18.4 (3) must, as soon as practicable, attempt to agree on terms respecting the resolution of the dispute, including, at a minimum, terms respecting

(a) the substance of the dispute,

(b) who may participate in the resolution of the dispute, and

(c) the individual who will serve as the dispute resolution facilitator.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the chief executive assessment officer may discontinue attempts to agree on terms respecting the resolution of a dispute.

(3) Before making a decision to discontinue attempts to agree on terms respecting the resolution of a dispute, the chief executive assessment officer must consider

(a) any applicable policies that have been developed by the chief executive assessment officer in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous nations, and

(b) the views of the participating Indigenous nation

(i) as set out in the participating Indigenous nation's notice under section 18.4 (3), and

(ii) if applicable, as presented to the chief executive assessment officer during the parties' attempts to reach agreement.

(4) If the chief executive assessment officer decides to discontinue attempts to agree on terms respecting the resolution of a dispute, the chief executive assessment officer must provide written reasons to the other party, which reasons must include a description of the matters described in subsection (3).

(5) If the parties to a dispute agree on terms respecting the resolution of the dispute, and if the chief executive assessment officer is not a party to the dispute, the parties must, as soon as practicable, notify the chief executive assessment officer in writing that agreement has been reached.

(6) If the parties to a dispute agree on terms respecting the resolution of the dispute, the chief executive assessment officer must refer the dispute to the individual who is to serve as the dispute resolution facilitator.

(7) If the parties to a dispute do not agree on terms respecting the resolution of the dispute, there is to be no dispute resolution process respecting that dispute.

Report to be provided by dispute resolution facilitator

18.6 (1) On completion of a dispute resolution process, the dispute resolution facilitator must provide a written report to

(a) the parties to the dispute, and

(b) if the chief executive assessment officer is not a party to the dispute, the chief executive assessment officer.

(2) The chief executive assessment officer must, upon receiving a report under subsection (1), provide a copy of the report to

(a) the proponent of the reviewable project to which the report relates, and

(b) each participating Indigenous nation that, in respect of the reviewable project, is not a party to the dispute.

(3) A report of a dispute resolution facilitator is not to be taken as guiding

(a) the chief executive assessment officer or minister respecting a project not addressed in the report, or

(b) a decision maker under another enactment.

Confidential information in report

18.7 A participating Indigenous nation to whom a report is provided under section 18.6 must, before the report is published by the chief executive assessment officer under section 18.9 (c), be given a reasonable opportunity to inform the chief executive assessment officer of any information in the report that the participating Indigenous nation considers to be confidential.

When pending decision under Act may be made

18.8 If the parties to a dispute have agreed on terms respecting the resolution of the dispute, the chief executive assessment officer may not make the pending decision described in section 18.4 (1) (b), (c) or (d), as applicable, until after the dispute resolution facilitator has complied with section 18.6 (1).

Publication of information respecting dispute resolution

18.9 The chief executive assessment officer must publish the following on a publicly accessible website maintained by or on behalf of the minister:

(a) reasons provided by the chief executive assessment officer under section  18.5 (4);

(b) a description of each dispute referred to a dispute resolution facilitator under section 18.5 (6);

(c) subject to sections 18.7 and 75, reports provided to the chief executive assessment officer under section 18.6 (1).

5 Section 48 (1) (a) is amended by striking out "proceedings under section 5" and substituting "the resolution of disputes under Part 4.2".

6 Section 71.2 (2), as enacted by section 34 of the Infrastructure Projects Act, S.B.C. 2025, c. 13, is amended by adding the following paragraph:

(b.1) Part 4.2; .

7 Section 75 (1) is amended by striking out "dispute resolution officer" and substituting "dispute resolution facilitator".

8 Section 77 (2) is amended by adding the following paragraphs:

(a.1) prescribing entities for the purposes of the definition of "United States tribe";

(a.2) respecting the powers and duties of dispute resolution facilitators under Part 4.2; .

9 The following heading is added before section 78:

Transitional Provisions .

10 The following sections are added:

Transition – matters referred to dispute resolution facilitator

78.1 (1) The Act, as it read immediately before the date on which this section comes into force, applies in respect of matters referred to a dispute resolution facilitator under section 5 prior to the repeal of that section.

(2) Regulations made under the Act, as those regulations read immediately before the date on which this section comes into force, apply in respect of the matters described in subsection (1).

(3) Despite subsections (1) and (2), if a matter was referred to a dispute resolution facilitator by a United States tribe under section 5 prior to the repeal of that section, the referral is of no force or effect and any facilitation being carried out under that section is terminated.

Transition – notice given by United States tribe under section 14 (1)

78.2 (1) A notice given by a United States tribe under section 14 (1) on or before the date on which this section comes into force is of no force or effect.

(2) For certainty, a United States tribe referred to in subsection (1) of this section is not a participating Indigenous nation.

Transition – project description submitted to chief executive assessment officer under section 15 (1)

78.3 (1) In this section, "standard protocol" means a policy document that

(a) is developed by the chief executive assessment officer in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous nations, and

(b) sets out requirements, processes and other matters respecting the manner in which the chief executive assessment officer and participating Indigenous nations may attempt to resolve matters that arise during the assessment of reviewable projects, including but not limited to

(i) the establishment of a technical table,

(ii) the establishment of a leadership table, and

(iii) a process for escalating matters of concern from a technical table to a leadership table.

(2) If, before the date on which this section comes into force, a project description was submitted to the chief executive assessment officer under section 15 (1) in respect of a reviewable project,

(a) Part 4.1 does not apply in respect of the assessment of that project, and

(b) the standard protocol applies in respect of that assessment.

Commencement

11 This Act comes into force on the date of Royal Assent.

Explanatory Notes

CLAUSE 1: [Environmental Assessment Act, section 1] amends and adds definitions.

CLAUSE 2: [Environmental Assessment Act, section 5] is consequential to the addition by this Bill of Part 4.2 to the Act.

CLAUSE 3: [Environmental Assessment Act, section 14] adds a provision specifying that a United States tribe may not provide notice respecting participation in an assessment of a project.

CLAUSE 4: [Environmental Assessment Act, Parts 4.1 and 4.2] adds Parts respecting issue resolution protocols and the resolution of disputes.

CLAUSE 5: [Environmental Assessment Act, section 48] is consequential to the addition by this Bill of Part 4.2 to the Act.

CLAUSE 6: [Environmental Assessment Act, section 71.2] is consequential to the addition by this Bill of Part 4.2 to the Act.

CLAUSE 7: [Environmental Assessment Act, section 75] makes a housekeeping amendment.

CLAUSE 8: [Environmental Assessment Act, section 77] adds regulation-making authority respecting the definition of "United States tribe" and respecting the powers and duties of dispute resolution facilitators.

CLAUSE 9: [Environmental Assessment Act, heading to transitional provisions] adds a heading for transitional provisions.

CLAUSE 10: [Environmental Assessment Act, sections 78.1 to 78.3] sets out transitional rules respecting specified matters.