The state of mineral exploration and mining in British Columbia 2008

There are three primary rights associated with the law of free entry: the right of entry and access on virtually all lands; the right to locate and register a claim without consulting the Crown; and the right to acquire a mineral lease with no discretion on the part of the Crown9. [...] That foundation is: Aboriginal title and rights claims forming the subject of litigation and treaty negotiations must be respected and protected by both the federal and provincial levels of government, while such litigation and treaty negotiations are pending.”11 Leaders of the mining industry acknowledge the growing role of First Nations, but remain uneasy about the potential impacts of increased [...] The EA process generally takes a few years, depending on factors such as the size and complexity of the project, the state of the economy, level of impacts and benefits, politics and First Nation’s relations with the company. [...] There are concerns with the amount of administrative and political discretion exercised during the EA, the lack of adequate funding for First Nations to be involved in the review, the scheduling of stages in the EA process which are not conducive to First Nations interests, and the lack of follow-up and enforcement of mitigation measures deferred to the permitting stage.32 The Carrier Sekani Triba [...] The paper is included in Appendix E. Prior to the EA, the company will conduct a significant amount of baseline field studies to understand the project area and how the mine will affect and be affected by environmental factors.