First Nations Mad Fr fr: B.C. Government Infrastructure Bills Looking Sus 😬

The Deets

Aight, fam, so listen up. The B.C. government is pushing these infrastructure bills, Bill 14 and 15, right? But First Nations are like, "Hold up, this ain't it." They're saying the government didn't even bother to properly consult them on this, which is a HUGE L considering the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act is supposed to be a thing.

Bill 15 is supposed to fast-track infrastructure projects, like, speed things up for stuff the government thinks is "provincially significant." But the deets on what actually makes a project "significant" are kinda vague, which is sus. And Bill 14 is tryna make it easier to get permits for renewable energy projects. Sounds good in theory, but the B.C. Energy Regulator, which is partly funded by oil and gas, would be in charge...you do the math.

Chief Don Tom from Tsartlip First Nation is straight up saying the "era of trust" is OVA if these bills pass. He basically said Premier Eby is making decisions solo and ignoring their concerns. Like, Chief Tom said the meetings they had with the government were useless, and all the Premier did was say thank you to his face when he brought up his concerns. The shade! First Nations are planning to fight back with all the legal options they have, and are gonna remember these actions during the next election - big oof.

Even the Union of B.C. Municipalities is side-eyeing Bill 15, saying there wasn't enough consultation. Premier Eby's acknowledging the trust issues, but still wants to push these bills through. But the opposition parties are like "Nah, fam," and are planning to vote against it. These bills are supposed to be voted on this week, so things are about to get spicy 🔥.