How are we working together?
The Ministry of Forests continues to work collaboratively with Indigenous partners to advance forest policy reforms in alignment with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration).Engagement approaches include issuing formal invitations to participate, hosting virtual and hybrid information sessions to improve accessibility, and meeting with First Nations at conferences, regional gatherings and community-based forums. Ministry staff also participate in direct discussions with Indigenous leaders and technical teams to share information, hear perspectives and support ongoing relationship building. Progress has been made in strengthening dialogue and improving clarity around policy intentions.
Engagement has also helped the ministry better understand regional priorities and the wide range of Indigenous perspectives across the province. There are meaningful opportunities to continue refining engagement practices. Expanding the use of virtual formats, aligning engagement with existing events, like the BC-First Nation Forestry Council ‘First Nation Forestry Forum’ and strengthening internal coordination can help reduce barriers and improve consistency.
The ministry remains committed to learning from these experiences and working with Indigenous partners in a way that reflects shared priorities and supports long term relationships. The ministry advances this work through a distinctions-based approach that provides opportunities for all First Nations to share input on proposed legislative and policy changes. Engagement includes a combination of virtual and in person sessions, government to government discussions and the use of structured tools such as feedback tracking and what we heard summaries. These processes help ensure that a range of perspectives, interests and recommendations are captured. Input from First Nation partners is used to inform policy design, clarify intent and refine drafts, supporting more transparent and collaborative development of legislation and policy aligned with the UN Declaration.
Are there challenges?
Reforming forest legislation, regulations and policy requires sustained collaboration, technical work and coordination across many partners. The breadth of the reforms combined with the diversity of interests, governance structures and contexts, creates a complex operating environment.
Capacity constraints remain a key challenge for both Indigenous partners and ministry teams. The volume of policy initiatives underway across the B.C. government can make it difficult for First Nations to engage in multiple processes at once, and ministry staff must balance engagement with ongoing operational responsibilities. These factors can influence the pace of co-development and limit opportunities for deeper, iterative dialogue.
The work to reform forestry legislation and policy is ongoing in nature and will extend into the future. As policies evolve and implementation begins, additional time and coordinated effort will be required to maintain alignment with the UN Declaration while ensuring operational clarity for all parties.
Despite these challenges, the ministry remains committed to advancing this work thoughtfully and collaboratively, recognizing that sustained engagement and relationship building are essential to achieving shared objectives.
Highlights
‘Na̲mg̲is First Nation – BC Joint Decision-Making Agreement
‘Na̲mg̲is First Nation and the Province signed a joint decision-making agreement in December 2025 that advances reconciliation by supporting predictable harvesting and sustainable forestry operations. This agreement is the first-of-its-kind decision-making agreement for the forestry sector under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (Declaration Act) and Forest Range and Practices Act. This work affirms that ‘Na̲mg̲is First Nation are partners in forestry decisions and will enable the joint establishment of forest landscape plans (FLP) for direction about where, when and how harvesting can occur over a 10-year term and joint approval of associated Forest Operations Plans (FOPs) to spatialize the licensee’s proposed harvest. Western Forest Products has worked closely with ‘Na̲mg̲is since 2021 to pilot the development of a draft FLP and FOP.
The section 7 agreement negotiations are part of the Province’s commitment to reconciliation and will help ensure forest sector transparency, stability and predictability.
BC Timber Sales (BCTS) Review
The BCTS review engagement and subsequent legislative changes were designed and delivered in alignment with the Declaration Act, with a focus on early, meaningful and ongoing engagement.
First Nations were engaged throughout the year, creating opportunities to inform policy direction prior to decisions being finalized. These changes, related to stewardship, land use, economic participation and long-term forest management, were identified by many First Nations as a high priority. Input from Nations helped shape legislative options and policy tools intended to enable greater Indigenous participation in BCTS operations.
The engagement advanced Declaration Act implementation by strengthening transparency, accountability and by embedding First Nations priorities into the development of legislative and operational changes.
Previous years’ progress
Highlights
Over the past year, the ministry has worked with First Nations on several projects to improve forest management through changes to forestry law. The ministry has created regulations to support Bill 41 (Forest Statutes Act, 2023), giving more decision-making power when issuing cutting permits and road permits. The ministry also worked on regulations to support Forest Landscape Planning and forest operations plans, as well as updates to other parts of the Forest and Range Practices Act.
These changes improve chances for shared management of forest resources. This also reduces barriers for the Province’s decision-makers to respond to First Nations’ interests.
Ministry staff worked with First Nations, in consultation and co-operation on these changes to the regulations that support prior legislation changes.
The ministry worked with First Nations to ensure their views were included in the legislation as it was developed. As this work moves forward, the ministry will work with First Nations through a distinctions-based approach to ensure the policy, regulatory and legislative work is done in a way that reflects shared strategic vision with First Nations and upholds the rights and objectives of the UN Declaration.
How are we working together?
The Province of British Columbia is working with First Nations partners to update forest legislation and policy. The Ministry of Forests and the BC First Nations Forestry Council have formed a working group to share ideas and information. This working group makes sure that First Nations views are included in the changes.
Ministry staff also work closely with individual First Nations to include their values and voices in the process. This approach helps create policies that respect the unique cultural and environmental priorities of First Nations. By talking openly and making decisions together, the Province aims to manage forests in a way that honours First Nations’ rights and traditions.
Are there challenges?
Both First Nations and the ministry need a lot of staff time and money to make these changes. It will be hard to balance the needs of both groups while making sure the changes happen quickly and fully respect the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Ministry executives know this will be a challenge for both First Nations and the ministry and are working on tools to manage it. The work is bigger than the reporting timeline for the Declaration Act Action Plan and will continue past 2027.
Highlights
Over the past year the Ministry of Forests (FOR) has worked on multiple initiatives in consultation and co-operation with First Nations, developing policy, regulations and legislation. The Ministry has successfully developed regulations to support Bill 28 (The Forest Amendment Act, 2021), developed regulations to update the Forest and Range Practices Act, and amended legislation to support cultural and prescribed fire, by strengthening compliance and enforcement and authorizing discretion in cutting and road permitting (Bill 41). Ministry staff worked in consultation and co-operation with First Nations on these changes to the regulations and legislation. FOR worked through an iterative process to ensure First Nations perspectives and priorities were considered and incorporated into the legislation as it was developed. The procedures used for consultation and co-operation are ever-evolving and improving to better align with the objectives of the UN Declaration, and to ensure a distinctions-based approach. FOR recognizes that opportunities remain to continue improving this process and looks forward to undertaking that work in collaboration with First Nations, stakeholders and the public.
FOR has worked in partnership with the First Nations Forestry Council (FNFC), through the FNFC/FOR working group, to better understand and deliver the resources and information needed to support First Nations participation in reforming and modernizing forest legislation, regulations and policy, and collectively work towards a shared strategic vision that upholds the rights and objectives of the UN Declaration the Declaration Act.
After working together in this way, in November 2023, FOR received Royal Assent in the legislature for Bill 41. This bill was inclusive of three of the items identified in the intentions paper as necessary changes to modernize forest policy.
How are we working together?
FOR has committed to establishing a strong distinctions-based approach to working with First Nations and Indigenous governing bodies to further the goals of collaboration and improved accountability.
In 2022, FOR and FNFC established a working group to collaboratively identify how best to support First Nations in policy, regulatory and legislative work and to develop tools and pathways to support First Nations rights holders.
The FNFC/FOR working group meets monthly to discuss current FOR policy initiatives, related to the known interests and concerns of First Nations in British Columbia. At these meetings, FOR reports out on the progress of, and discusses with FNFC, the Action Plan item 2.10 and the work of reforming forest legislation, regulations and policy to reflect a shared strategic vision with First Nations. The working group has also developed resources and has hosted online and in-person events and networking opportunities to support First Nations rights holders to engage in consultation and co-operation on this work.
Specifically, the working group hosted four in-person events throughout the province in 2023 for First Nations representatives and FOR staff to come together to discuss priority topics. These events were a continuation of the series of four events the FNFC/FOR working group hosted in 2022 and there are plans to continue hosting these events together to create space for discussion and collaboration. These events, and the collaboration with the FNFC, provide FOR staff with opportunities to meet with First Nations representatives in a workshop and networking setting. They provide additional consultation and collaboration opportunities outside of direct government-to-government discussions and engagement with rights holders.
FOR has engaged with over 140 First Nations on topics under modernizing forest policy in British Columbia (the intentions paper), through government-to-government meetings, surveys, facilitated engagement sessions and through written correspondence.
FNFC reports to the First Nations Leadership Council, and through that reporting structure, the work associated with this action is being monitored by the First Nations Leadership Council.
Are there challenges?
Reforming forest legislation, regulations and policy that reflects a shared strategic vision with First Nations and that upholds the rights and objectives of the UN Declaration is an ambitious and significant undertaking. Navigating how to do this effectively takes time to ensure shared efforts foster collaboration and align with collective goals and values.
Capacity pressures within the Ministry of Forests and amongst First Nations to ensure comprehensive consultation and co-operation are creating challenges in the timely completion of work. Internally, FOR is mitigating this challenge by ensuring that staff have clear processes, training, resources and tools to engage and consult fully with all First Nations in alignment with the Declaration Act. Due to limited resources and capacity, some Nations are challenged to engage in all of the work of FOR in a fulsome way. The high volume of initiatives and work being done limits the amount of engagement each Nation has the capacity to participate in. FOR will continue to monitor and adapt timelines as needed to ensure effective and complete consultation and co-operation, which can be complex and challenging with over 200 First Nations.
While FOR has a strong working relationship with FNFC, FNFC does not represent Aboriginal rights holders, and FOR staff must ensure they directly contact all First Nations in the manner to which the Province has committed, in order to engage on legislation, regulations and policy work that may have impacts on their territory. Engaging with over 200 First Nations on provincial-level changes is a complex but vital undertaking that can be challenging to effectively deliver. To manage this effectively, FOR staff are being provided with support for engagement planning, as well as the tools and resources needed to allow for full engagement with all First Nations on legislative, regulatory and policy work.