Containment strategy: How Premier Eby is misframing Indigenous opposition to Bill 15
The BC First Nations Leadership Council is not the problem. Bill 15 is.
This piece was originally published on CHEK News on May 28, 2025
Premier David Eby is hoping British Columbians believe Bill 15 is only controversial because a few First Nations political organizations, members of the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC), are bitter because they were left out of consultations.
Premier Eby is misleading British Columbians. The FNLC are not the opposition, they are the messengers. The message is coming from First Nations rights holders from across the province.
Rights holders are speaking: Premier Eby is pretending not to hear them
The FNLC consists of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, First Nations Summit, and the BC Assembly of First Nations, the members of these organizations are the political leaders from a majority of the 204 First Nations communities in the province. The rights holders.
Premier Eby understands the distinction, he is hoping the public do not. In a meeting of First Nations leadership hosted by the FNLC, the Premier heard directly from the rights holders, First Nations Chiefs from all corners of the province, clearly opposing Bills 14 & 15 and demanding the premier withdraw the ill-advised legislation. Apart from this meeting the Premier and his Ministers have heard directly from many First Nations leaders in writing, and in person.
In characterizing the FNLC as isolated and “hurt”, the premier is intentionally deflecting the attention away from the problem he and his cabinet—specifically Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma and Indigenous Relations Minister Christine Boyle—face: a wide rejection of Bill 15 and a clear message that it undermines First Nations rights, title, and the Crown’s constitutional obligations.
The Premier’s behaviour is deceptive, and it dishonours the Crown.
Core territory is a not a definable concept: It’s a political excuse.
Out of nowhere Premier Eby and his cabinet ministers have started using the term “core territory” in their communications. They have stated that projects would require consent from the First Nation whose “core territory” the project is in. It caught my attention the first time I heard the Premier drop it into the meeting. Following the meeting, I sent Minister Ma a message asking her and her Ministry to define my First Nations “core territory.” I am still waiting for an answer.
She can’t answer the question because the term is undefined, it has no legal standing, there is no “core territory” policy. In fact, overlapping and shared territory, created by the Indian Act and exacerbated by the BC Treaty Process, is one of the most complex and sensitive issues in Crown-Indigenous relations in British Columbia.
Premier Eby knew this last Fall when he gave Minister Boyle her mandate letter. He writes, “given the strains of conflict over boundaries, the legal costs and uncertainty, associated with unclear boundaries work with First Nations partners to prioritize Action 1.1 of the Declaration Act Action Plan relating to overlap and boundary dispute resolution.” She hasn’t even started the work and yet Premier Eby and Minister Ma confidently refer to “core territory” like Minister Boyle has solved the problem.
The “core territory” rhetoric is a clear attempt by Premier Eby to contain who his government will consult with for fast-tracked infrastructure projects, and it marks a troubling return to the colonial and patriarchal approach to a fragile and complex Crown-Indigenous governance framework. This is irresponsible behaviour by the premier in the extreme. Minister Boyle should not stand in silence while her boss does his best Christy Clark impression and makes her job unbelievably more difficult.
My Chief, Don Tom, is also Vice-President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (both the messenger and the message). He said it clearly, “the bill gives the cabinet the authority to override permitting and environmental assessments for projects they deem a priority. There are no clear limits, no binding safeguards, no commitment to co-governance with the rightful titleholders… when it comes to Bill 14 and 15, Mr. Eby is a snake oil salesman. He’ll tell us how great it is, what the benefits are, but we know, in reality, it will do no good. … The era of trust is over.”
Premier Eby’s attempt to isolate FNLC is irresponsible
First Nations have been clear. We don’t oppose the development of infrastructure or major economic development projects. We oppose the Premier, and his cabinet cheerleaders, trampling our constitutional rights.
Premier Eby is trying to isolate the FNLC. He knows the opposition to Bill 15 is far broader, he just does not want the public to know it.
There is a growing voice of frustration and anger from First Nations people across territories and political affiliations. In trying to isolate our political leaders, Premier Eby is uniting us behind them. And while he makes a mess of this situation, he puts a political target on infrastructure projects that First Nations would have usually not paid much attention to. Premier Eby’s containment strategy, targeting our respected First Nations leaders, is adding insult to injury.
Minister Christine Boyle should not leave Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation to Premier Eby. He gave her a mandate to uphold DRIPA, address territorial issues, and rebuild trust and if that mandate means anything, now the time for her to act, not in solidarity with Premier Eby, but with First Nations who depend on her.
This piece was originally published on CHEK News on May 28, 2025
Thank you, Adam, for your continued efforts to keep this crucial issue before the public. Eby's autocratic instincts threaten the progress that has been made with DRIPA, weaken environmental protections across the province, and contradict his own public posturing as a defender of democratic institutions.