Ecological No-Go Zones

Overview of BC Law

Under Canada’s National Parks Act,¹⁵¹ mining is prohibited in national parks. In BC, this means no mining activities can be carried out in:

• Glacier National Park of Canada;
• Gulf Islands National Park Reserve of Canada;
• Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site;
• Kootenay National Park of Canada;
• Mount Revelstoke National Park of Canada;
• Pacific Rim National Park Reserve of Canada; or
• Yoho National Park of Canada.

In addition to the national parks, BC’s legislated two-zone system expressly restricts mining activities in the following ecological areas:¹⁵²

• areas in which mining is prohibited under the Environment and Land Use Act;
• Crown lands designated under section 93.1 of the Land Act;
• parks & conservancies under the Park Act;
• regional parks under the Local Government Act;
• park or ecological reserves under the Protected Areas of British Columbia Act; and
• ecological reserves under the Ecological Reserve Act.