A B.C. First Nation in the final stages of treaty negotiation is suing the province for allegedly breaching the “honour of the Crown” after an official extended an expiring timber licence in its traditional territory.
Filed in a B.C. Supreme Court last week, the application for judicial review from ’Wuìk̓inux̌v Nation seeks to overturn an August 2025 decision from an official with the Ministry of Forests that gave Interfor Corp. (TSX:IFP) a three-year extension to log an estimated 50,000 cubic metres of timber.
After more than 30 years of treaty negotiations, the court application argues that allowing a third party to continue harvesting on the nation’s lands—without their consent and against their environmental concerns—is a step backward that the law no longer allows.
The claim, which also names Interfor, arrives at a volatile moment for B.C. politics: by leaning on a landmark legal precedent set in December 2025, it lands squarely in the middle of a heated debate over how the province manages its natural resources in an era of reconciliation.
Both the Ministry of Forests and ’Wuìk̓inux̌v’s leadership declined to comment on the legal challenge while it is before the courts.
“We are aware of the Nation’s petition and we are reviewing it,” said Interfor spokesperson Svetlana Kayumova.
The application describes the Wuìk̓inux̌v as having lived in the Great Bear Rainforest for thousands of years, “sustained through its territory’s rich and plentiful resources.”
Read the full article at Business in Vancouver: ’Wuìk̓inux̌v Nation sues B.C. over timber licence extension amid final treaty talks