A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has revoked the environmental assessment certificate for a proposed gold mine in the province’s north, citing the Crown’s failure to adequately consult a small Indigenous group asserting Aboriginal title over the area. The decision halts a project that had undergone 15 years of planning, secured support from two larger First Nations, and attracted $1.2 billion in spending. On the same day, the provincial government announced it had approved the Red Chris copper and gold mine expansion, a project developed in partnership with the Tahltan Nation and listed as a federal priority.

From Victoria, Premier David Eby framed the Red Chris approval as evidence that “meaningful Indigenous involvement creates certainty” and drives private investment. In contrast, Canadian conservative commentators described the court ruling as a case where a group of 58 individuals, self-identifying as a First Nation, derailed a major industrial venture. The Tahltan Central Government president, Kerry Carlick, stated that the expansion demonstrates how recognizing Indigenous rights can strengthen, rather than obstruct, resource development.

In Toronto, an Ontario Superior Court judge found 93-year-old Magna International founder Frank Stronach guilty of one count of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault, while acquitting him of more serious charges including rape and attempted rape. The offences date from the late 1970s and early 1980s and involved two women who testified they were assaulted at Stronach’s condominium. Prosecutors had originally laid 12 charges; seven were dropped during trial and three resulted in acquittal. Stronach’s lawyer, Leora Shemesh, expressed satisfaction that the graver charges were dismissed but disappointment at the two convictions, which she termed “minor”.

Four months after a mass shooting at a secondary school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, that left eight people dead, the federal and provincial governments each committed $100 million to demolish the existing school and build a new one, as well as to modernize the community’s health centre. Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking at a Vancouver construction site, said the funding was part of a broader infrastructure agreement and that demolition would begin this summer. Sentencing for Stronach is scheduled for 17 September; he faces a separate trial in May 2027 on allegations from six additional women. The quashed mine approval leaves the project’s future uncertain, while the Red Chris expansion is expected to move to underground block-cave mining, extending operations to 2038 and creating 1,800 construction jobs at peak.