Major projects will be slowed by court challenges if rights are violated: First Nations chief [Video]

The regional chief of the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations said Wednesday that governments should not speed up major projects at the expense of First Nations rights — and warned that projects will be slowed down by court challenges if First Nations are not consulted from the start.

“We’re asking the government to follow your own laws,” Terry Teegee said, citing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that the federal government adopted.

The government of Prime Minister Mark Carney introduced major economic legislation last week. The bill has two parts — one to break down federal barriers to internal trade and the other to fast-track major projects. It sets out five criteria to determine whether a project is in the “national interest.”

Those criteria include the project’s likelihood of success, whether it would strengthen the country’s resiliency and advance the interests of Indigenous Peoples, and …