The B.C. NDP government has committed to hand over approximately 400 parcels of public Crown land to First Nations, while promising just days before the snap election that it would change the law to limit compensation to forest companies affected by the losses. The revelation is contained inside briefing documents labelled “confidential” but obtained by Northern Beat. The briefing is dated Sept. 10, less than two weeks before Premier David Eby called a snap election. Anyone who wanted to see the material was forced by government to sign a non-disclosure agreement to remain quiet during the election period. “One mechanism used to advance reconciliation is through the return of Crown lands to First Nations under treaties and other negotiated agreements,” reads the document, titled “Forest Compensation Framework.” “Presently, there are approximately 400 parcels committed for transfer through Treaty and reconciliation agreements.” The proposed solution is to change the compensation rules to make it cheaper for government to remove the logging rights from forest companies on land earmarked for First Nations by, in some cases, not compensating the companies at all. The documents show the Eby cabinet approved the policy in July. Voters have not been told of the decision in the election campaign, nor was it included in Wednesday’s BC NDP forestry platform. Last election, the Eby government hid $100M reconciliation deal from voters Until now, the government has not revealed the total number of Crown land parcels it has privately agreed to give to First Nations communities. The NDP government has been heavily criticized in recent years for keeping the public in the dark over land transfer agreements, limiting public access to provincial parks in the name of Indigenous reconciliation and making secretive reconciliation agreements that impact local governments and businesses that are not revealed until so late in the process that the deal is already done.