How a 58 Member First Nation Stopped a $50 billion Mine due to Lack of Consultation

In another victory for Indigenous peoples, in Tsetsaut Skii Km Lax Ha Nation v. British Columbia (Environment and Parks), 2026 BCSC 1042, the Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation (TSKLH) with 58 members in northwestern British Columbia successfully stood up to the Crown and a company who has already invested $1 billion in preliminary work for a massive gold/copper/silver/molybdenum mine to produce 130,000 tonnes of ore per day for a 52 year period, including "one of the largest tailings facilities in North America."

It's claimed that as one of the largest mining projects ever built in BC, it would contribute $50 billion to Canada's GDP. Both the federal and provincial Crowns have designated it a "critical mineral project."

BC had already conceded in 2004 that TSKLH "had a 'relatively strong prima facie claim' to the Awijii territory for the purposes of consultation." The Court noted, "One of the difficulties the TSKLH has encountered in its engagement with the Province ... is that it was ... seen as being part of the Gitxsan nation. The TSKLH ... claims it is an independent entity and has continued to assert its claims for rights and title as an independent collective."

A very important finding in this case is that "where a change in the potential strength of the TSKLH's claim has been indicated, specifically in respect of the Treaty Creek Valley area ... [and] the Province produces an updated ethnographic report that results in a revised understanding of TSKLH's territory ... an updated strength of claim assessment at a prima facie level should have been prepared ... more was required in the consultation process."

Thus, if the Crown's understanding of an Indigenous people's territorial claims evolves, additional consultation with that people will be required, taking into account that new understanding of the Crown, such as the Crown now understanding that territorial assertions had always been broader than the Crown understood, as that would modify the scope of the Crown's consultation obligations.

The Supreme Court of British Columbia concluded that "the Province has breached its duty to consult the TSKLH." What this means for all First Nations is that Courts will back you if you insist upon your constitutionally protected rights to consultation and accommodation. However, as this case shows, you’ll need an extensive correspondence record to show your efforts to engage with the Crown, you’ll need evidence of at least prima facie rights, and you’ll need to clearly identify where the Crown failed in its consultation duties, and what you reasonably expect the Crown to do to fix that.