Past Priorities 2020-2024
Securing BC’s Old Growth for the Future
In response to the growing public demands to preserve BC’s old growth forests, the BC government commissioned an expert panel to explore what was happening to BC’s iconic, big tree old growth and what could be done to stop the losses. They published their report, the Old Growth Strategic Review (OGSR), in September 2020, which included fourteen critical recommendations.
Following the release of the Review, OFC pivoted to focussing on advocacy around two of the recommendations in particular:
Recommendation #6 calls for immediate deferrals of development “in old forests where ecosystems are at very high and near-term risk of irreversible biodiversity loss”. This recommendation for immediate action was meant to temporarily protect these at-risk and critically valuable ecosystems in the short term, so that some space could be created for longer-term solutions to be worked out without threat of these trees being logged in the interim.
Recommendation #2 takes a more forward-looking approach, recommending that the province “declare the conservation and management of ecosystem health and biodiversity of British Columbia’s forests as an overarching priority and enact legislation that legally establishes this priority for all sectors”. This recommendation links directly to OFC’s prior forest advocacy work, in which we called for legislative changes that would put our province’s forests, not timber, first.
Under this policy priority, we advocated for implementation of these two recommendations, holding the province accountable to both the need for immediate action and longer-term transformative change.
Outcomes:
A key change that we had long advocated for was secured in 2023, with the removal of a major regulatory constraint on ecosystem protections. Under the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA), all non-timber objectives for forest management (set out in the Forest Planning and Practices Regulation (FPPR)) were limited in their impact by the qualifier, “without unduly reducing the supply of timber from British Columbia's forests”. For example, the forest management objective to be achieved with regard to streamside habitat, read “without unduly reducing the supply of timber from British Columbia’s forests, to conserve, at the landscape level, the water quality, fish habitat, wildlife habitat and biodiversity associated with those riparian areas”. This applied to all non-timber values, including wildlife habitat, biodiversity, water/drinking water, and soils. All of those “unduly” clauses were removed from the FPPR and the Government Actions Regulation in 2023, finally walking back a regulated prioritization of timber/economic values over all others. This long-awaited change removes a key legal barrier to the consideration of non-timber values in decision-making.
In November 2023, the province released its long-awaited draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework (BEHF). This draft Framework is a key step towards fulfilling recommendation #2 from the OGSR, promising to commit “to the conservation and management of ecosystem health and biodiversity as an overarching priority”, to be implemented through legislation and other “enabling tools”. The launch of the draft Framework was followed by an extensive public feedback period. The final Framework is slated for release in 2025. We hope to see it preceded by interim measures to protect disappearing ecosystems, and to see it followed by a strong law that legally enshrines this prioritization of biodiversity and ecosystem health in decision-making. Work on this continues under OFC’s current Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Policy Priority.
Progress on deferrals of old growth have been slow-going. In 2021, the province’s independent Old Growth Technical Advisory Panel recommended 2.6M hectares for priority old growth for deferral. Four years later, almost half has been formally deferred, with the agreement of First Nations, while much of the rest is under voluntary deferral (the latter not being a binding designation) though government is not transparent about what those areas are. We continue to push for action to enshrine these deferrals, move deferred areas into permanent protection, and advocate that valuable old growth under threat of being logged isn’t lost while these processes unfold.
Mineral Tenure Act Modernization in Light of DRIPA
The Mineral Tenure Act (MTA) and BC’s nearly 170-year-old free-entry mineral claim regime remains a key tool of colonialism. The MTA regime and the need to reform it have been simmering issues for decades in BC, periodically erupting in controversies over particular mining proposals in locations that are inappropriate for environmental, cultural, health, or safety reasons. The free-entry mineral claim regime is a root cause of these conflicts. BC needs a modernized MTA that upholds the inherent rights of First Nations title holders, avoids land use conflicts, and improves certainty for all.
BC remains one of the last main mining jurisdictions left in Canada to modernize its “free entry” law. Key changes needed include reforms to:
Align the act with BC’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), in particular the requirement for free, prior and informed consent prior to granting mineral tenures;
End the legislated presumption that virtually all lands in BC outside of protected areas are open for mineral claim staking regardless of their other cultural, ecological, or economic values;
Respect land use planning designations and other “no-go” zones; ensure First Nations can determine, at a strategic level if desired, which areas of their territories are off limits to mineral claims;
Require landowner consent and consultation with other land-users (recreation, tourism, local communities etc) prior to granting mineral rights;
Limit or make conditional the rights granted with a mineral claim; end the automatic right of mineral claim-holders to a long-term mining lease; enable decision makers to determine whether to grant tenures or not based based on a legislated public interest criteria;
Provide stronger legal tools to revoke existing tenures that are incompatible with the public interest, e.g., were granted without First Nations consent;
Legislatively limit compensation payable by the Province to claim-holders to reduce barriers for implementing land use plans, IPCAs etc.
Outcomes:
In 2023, the BC Supreme Court released its ruling in Gitxaala v British Columbia (Chief Gold Commissioner). The case argued that the MTA violates the constitution (s 35), and further argued that it is not aligned with DRIPA.
The Court ruled that the operation of the MTA is unconstitutional, depriving First Nations of myriad rights, and violating the duty to consult guaranteed to First Nations rightsholders.
On the finding of unconstitutionality, the Court gave the province 18 months from the date of judgement to remedy this breach and implement a consultation system.
The court found that DRIPA compliance is not a justiciable issue, and so declined to examine whether the Act complies with DRIPA. This is currently under appeal.
Going beyond this court-ordered consultation framework, government has committed to the broader necessary work of reforming the MTA to ensure DRIPA alignment. We are pleased to see the commitment to much-needed reforms, and now look forward to seeing government follow through on this work.
DRIPA alignment was first committed to in 2022, under s 2.14 of the Declaration Act Action Plan, and again later that year in the mandate letter for the new Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation.
This commitment was re-emphasized in 2024, with a fall 2026 target date for new legislation, setting a clear public timeline for this critical work.
OFC and its members continue to advocate strongly for high bar replacement legislation, and will participate in MTA reform engagement processes. We will be watching closely to ensure this commitment is fully executed.
Meeting BC’s Oil & Gas Target
In 2021, BC set long-awaited sectoral targets for emissions reductions in four key areas, one of which was the oil and gas sector. The setting of sectoral targets was a key demand of our previous climate target accountability work, in which we successfully advocated for these more specific targets. The province also made a commitment to develop an oil and gas sector strategy by the end of 2023 to achieve the oil and gas sectoral emissions target set (a reduction of 33-38% below 2007 levels by 2030).
Under this policy priority, we advocated for the policy measures needed to meet the greenhouse gas reductions promised in the oil and gas sector. In particular, we argued the following policies are needed to ensure that this sector is accountable for reaching its targets:
Rapidly implement all key policies announced in the CleanBC Roadmap to 2030.
Remove subsidies and preferential tax treatment for the Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) industry.
Commit to reach near-zero methane emissions by 2030 instead of 2035.
Ensure LNG development does not jeopardize BC’s path to meeting its climate targets.
Direct the BC Utilities Commission to include compliance with BC Climate targets in its oversight of utilities.
Outcomes:
In early 2023, BC released its Energy Action Framework, which outlines several policies that government plans to use to meet its oil and gas targets. The Framework itself is relatively light on detail, meaning that it needs to be filled in with subsequent policy execution.
One of the promises of the Energy Action Framework was to implement an emissions cap on the oil and gas sector. This measure has faced delays, with regulations now expected in 2025, and not taking effect until 2026, according to the government’s own statements. The commitment to capping emissions from the oil and gas sectors was reiterated in mandate letters released in early 2025. We continue to advocate strongly for this policy.
The Framework also announced a requirement for “all proposed LNG facilities in or entering the environmental assessment (EA) process to pass an emissions test with a credible plan to be net zero by 2030”.
In fall of 2024, BC announced that it was strengthening provincial methane regulations, and declared that it is “well on track to achieve its 2025 target of reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 45% from 2014 levels.” Improved regulation is a positive step, but the new regulations still do not cover some important methane sources and some aspects will not apply to existing facilities until 2035. We continue to advocate for these regulations to be strengthened and the timeline to “near-zero” accelerated.
In 2023, BC Hydro updated its Integrated Resource Plan to better reflect future increased electricity demand. This was coupled with a call for power in 2024 (the first of multiple anticipated calls for power) which resulted in 11 successful renewable energy projects, both wind and solar, with strong Indigenous participation. If deployed correctly, these scale-ups of clean electricity supply can help support BC’s climate target. We will continue to advocate to ensure that this supply is used to support climate solutions and clean economy sectors, as opposed to simply powering expanded oil and gas production.
Protecting 30% of BC by 2030 (30x30)
Climate and human-driven fires, floods, and droughts are among the most pressing and devastating impacts of climate change faced by the people and ecosystems in BC. The urgency of the twin climate and biodiversity crises requires immediate action, including protecting biodiversity.
We called on the province to take decisive action to protect 25% of BC’s lands and waters by 2025 (the “25x25 goal”) and 30% by 2030 (the “30x30 goal”), in partnership with Indigenous peoples and the federal government. Reaching the 30% goal, widely recognized to be a minimum threshold for effective conservation, is an essential step for a sustainable and healthy environmental future.
Outcomes:
In late 2022, the 30x30 goal appeared in the mandate letter issued to BC’s Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. Specific direction was given to the Minister to work to achieve this goal, including through Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas. The issuing of this directive by the BC government marked one of the first provincial-level commitments to the 30x30 goal, and a major leap forward for conservation.
In October 2023, the BC government announced a $150 million provincial commitment to fund a conservation financing mechanism. This mechanism is being administered by the BC Parks Foundation, who plan to use the provincial commitment to leverage an additional $150 million in matching private contributions. The BC Conservation Fund is now up and running as of 2024.
In November 2023, the federal government, the BC provincial government, and the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) signed the Tripartite Framework Agreement on Nature Conservation. The Agreement mobilized up to $450 million in federal funding for nature conservation, effectively matching provincial supports already announced, like the conservation financing mechanism. The Agreement is one of a few that the federal government has negotiated, and is the first such concluded agreement to be tripartite in nature (as opposed to a bilateral federal-provincial agreement only). The Agreement lays the groundwork for the provincial government to follow through on its commitments, with a clear mandate, funding and pathway to 30x30.
Finally, 2024 saw two major conservation announcements: an expansion of Klinse-za/Twin Sisters Park (200,00ha) and Clayoquot Sound Conservancies (76,000ha). The former is the largest protected area expansion in BC in a decade. While these were major announcements, increasing the total land that is fully protected in BC from 15.5% to 15.9%, much work remains to meet the threshold 30% amount needed for ecological preservation.