VICTORIA – The Government of British Columbia has introduced new rules for dispute resolution for conflict settlement between the provincial government and First Nations about environmental assessments.
The Environmental Assessment Office’s (EAO) dispute resolution regulation offers predictable and clear avenues for First Nations to dispute decisions related to large projects that require an environmental assessment certificate, a release said.
Access to dispute resolution is affirmed in Article 40 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and is a procedural right for First Nations in the Environmental Assessment Act, the release added, allowing for a third-party facilitator to support the parties in consensus seeking and building good relations between governments.
“The new regulation provides clear guidelines to support the process and boundaries to support its intended use and related timeliness,” the release said.
The EAO consulted over the past year with First Nations to ensure cultural traditions and legal systems would be reflected in a dispute-resolution process and co-developed by the parties participating.
Industry representatives and dispute-resolution practitioners were also engaged in the regulation’s development, the release said.
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