Public Land Use Society

06/07/2026

06/06/2026

The Province has lost control of land, resources, and decision-making in its own territory.

The last-minute extension of BCs moratorium on new mineral claims in the northwest is a warning.

With an undisclosed Tahltan Foundation Agreement moving behind closed doors, and Aboriginal title recognition apparently on the table, the writing is already on the wall.

Large parts of BC are being carved out of provincial governance.

How is Canada supposed to become a critical mineral superpower when there is a moratorium on exploration in some of our most mineral rich regions?

06/04/2026

PLUS requested the Province's proposed DRIPA amendments and the letter sent to First Nations leaders, both referenced publicly by .

The Province withheld everything.

Negotiations with the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) over possible changes to DRIPA will now be occuring over the summer, behind closed doors.

Do you think the public has a right to be informed about what amendments were proposed to begin with?

06/03/2026

Our Executive Director explains how coastal communities are being pulled into a new governance model without clear rules, public consent, or accountable lines of authority.

Public Land Use Society's Warren Mirko reflects on the growing uncertainty facing BC's coastal communities, and what it could mean for the future of public land governance.

➡️ Read the full piece here: https://www.sitkamedia.ca/mirko-bcs-coastal-communities-face-growing-uncertainty-over-public-land-governance/

05/30/2026

Kudos to for preparing BC sport fishers for reconciliation-based salmon policy changes masked under conservation and other schemes.

DFO Pacific is promising salmon will remain a public resource, while they are preparing to remove that exact language from the allocation policy.

"The has also raised concerns that DFO will strip language affirming salmon as a shared public resource and thus erode the right to fish for all Canadians."

Do you think that removing salmon as a shared public resource is a fair and effective approach to managing the stocks?

🔗 Article link in comments.

05/28/2026

The Líl̓wat have responsed to Joffre Lakes closures by demanding the length of the closures be doubled, and that the Province respond by Tuesday.

Joffre Lakes is a public provincial park. No court has established Aboriginal title over it and no treaty covers it.

Líl̓wat are demanding 72 days of closure in 2026: April 19 to May 11, June 20 to 27, and August 23 to October 5. The Province announced 29 days. Líl̓wat insist the full 72 days be implemented.

British Columbians deserve to know: is the Province managing Joffre Lakes under public law, or negotiating public access through political demands behind closed doors?

If it is the latter, the Province needs to explain when public access to provincial parks became negotiable, who gets a veto, and where the legal authority comes from.

05/25/2026

The thinks that cabinet “must engage directly with First Nations in the implementation of the [trade agreement] of any future trade and investment agreement to ensure benefits of Canada’s trade diversification reach First Nations.”

In a recent submission to Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the organization asserted that "First Nations hold an Inherent right to self-determination, including determining policies, regulations, and legislations that dictate their participation and engagement on inter-nation, international, and internal trade", citing articles 19 and 33 of explicitly to support their reasoning.

Do you think that the federal Crown is, or should be, required to include Canada's 634 First Nations, in addition to the Inuit and Métis people, in its international trade and treaty negotiations?



🔗 Links to the news article and full submission in the comments.

05/24/2026

British Columbians are again being warned away from public land and waterways across an area larger than Vancouver Island.

Gitxsan hereditary chiefs have unilaterally banned sport fishing across 100% of waterways in their claimed territory and warn access through “Gitxsan [lands] is not permitted and will be defended by Gitxsan WILPS.”

Reserve land and claimed traditional territory are not the same thing. Minister knows this, but her Ministry tells anglers to seek permission before crossing Indian Reserve lands, then links to a Gitxsan traditional territory map.

That blurs a legal distinction government should be making clear.

And if conflict arises, anglers are told to call the RCMP.

So licences remain valid, public authority supposedly remains intact, but the enforcement plan is: “good luck out there and make sure you have cell service if you need the police”.

Do you think this is a good approach to governing fisheries and Crown land in the province?

05/23/2026

When asked about Tahltan-BC title negotiations, Minister dismissed the issue as “conspiracy theories” and told to “use Google.”

But it was government that withheld more than 400 pages in response to an FOI request about the foundation agreement.

That is secrecy.

Do you think questioning government about the status of agreements that may affect title and governance authority over 11% of the province is justified, or that asking these types of questions is indulging in conspiracies?

05/19/2026

What's in the "foundation agreement" between the Tahltan and the Province?

Good question.

PLUS obtained FOI records revealing years of B.C. government negotiations with the Tahltan involving land and governance transfers, recognition, and Crown authority across 11% of B.C.

But over 400 pages were withheld by the Province.

The public still has not been told what the agreement is or if it has already been finalized.

Yet it may be one of the most significant governance and land restructurings in modern B.C. history.

Do you think the full details of the agreement should be made public before it becomes permanent?

Read our full release here: https://publiclanduse.ca/news/plus-foi-records-reveal-bc-negotiating-tahltan-title-land-transfers-and-governance-framework-across-11-of-province/