May 25, 2026
Yahey vs. British Columbia Decision and Its Impact on Natural Gas Drilling in British Columbia
British Columbia, and in particular its Montney play, currently produces over 35% of all Western Canadian natural gas. Montney B.C. dry natural gas production is expected to reach over 14 Bcf/d, or 55% of all Western Canadian natural gas production. The Montney Play is a major natural gas source for LNG projects. The entire B.C. Montney region is within Treaty 8 traditional territory. Treaty 8 is comprised of a number of First Nations, including Blueberry River First Nation (BRFN).
Figure 1. Western Canadian and Montney BC Natural Gas Production
Yahey v. British Columbia decision
In 2021, the B.C. Supreme Court’s decision in Yahey v. British Columbia found that B.C. breached Treaty 8 by failing to account for the cumulative impacts of industrial development, including natural gas production, on Blueberry River First Nations’ treaty rights. Before Yahey, oil and gas, forestry, mining, and hydroelectric projects were generally approved under sector-specific rules, without landscape-scale cumulative impact limits.
The decision triggered major changes to land-use planning, consultation processes, and natural resource regulation in B.C. B.C. entered into complex negotiations with First Nations to define areas with different levels of development restrictions. These negotiations were complicated by overlapping territories, internal governance issues, and industry coordination.
Yahey and the 2023 BRFN Implementation Agreement created a co-management framework for BRFN territory focused on managing cumulative industrial impacts. The main development impact has been reduced access for natural gas drilling in high cultural-value areas of BRFN territory.
What is an Impact?
About 11.5 Tcf of Montney natural gas resources out of 347 Tcf are affected by development restrictions, though BC has sought to minimize impacts on gas development; many fully restricted high-value areas are outside the Montney formation.
The map shows Treaty 8 territory, High Value Protection Zones under the Gundy Plan, Protection Zones, Enhanced Management, Consensus Protection, and Protection Commitment zones, and well map. These zones represent areas with different levels and types of protection for different First Nations within Treaty 8.
The actual boundaries of these zones and the level of protection are subject to implementation agreements with different First Nations within Treaty 8. As of April 2026, these agreements have been finalized only with BRFN. The Gundy Plan Protection Zones are shown on this map.
Figure 2. Drilling on Montney BC and Protected Zones
Most drilling activities are outside the Enhanced Management, Consensus Protection, and Protection Commitment zones. However, Letters of Agreement with First Nations identify other zones that overlap with major development areas. For example, the Collaborative Management Planning Area for Saulteau First Nation overlaps with sweet spots in the southern BC Montney. There is uncertainty about how such collaborative management will be conducted.
Conclusions
Incorrys estimates that the actual impact of the Implementation Agreement with BRFN is relatively small. The B.C. Montney has significant resources outside the protected zones to continue natural gas development. However, because implementation agreements with seven other First Nations within Treaty 8, in addition to BRFN, are still not complete, this creates risks and uncertainties for producers.