BC Government Proposes New Rules It Says Will Provide More Privacy in Negotiations With First Nations

B.C. Premier David Eby is smudged with tobacco by Mitchell Tourangeau during a gathering to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver on Sept. 30, 2025. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

B.C. is proposing new rules that would make it easier to meet and negotiate confidentially with First Nations, saying it is putting in changes long-sought by municipalities.

The proposed amendments to existing legislation were put forward by B.C.’s New Democratic Party government in the provincial legislature Oct. 9 and will take effect if and when the bill passes and gets royal assent.