By Radha Agarwal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince Rupert Northern View Five First Nations in northwest B.C. have partnered with the Province to identify areas across 16 million hectares for both biodiversity conservation and natural resource development to boost Canada’s economy. “Partnerships like this will deliver the critical minerals the world needs while better protecting the air, land and waters that First Nations have stewarded since time immemorial,” said Jagrup Brar, minister of Mining and Critical Minerals, in a June 3 news release. In the release, the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship announced that over the next year, it will collaborate with the Tahltan, Taku River Tlingit, Kaska Dena, Gitanyow, and Nisga’a Nations on fast-tracked, inclusive land-use planning. This process will also involve engaging with industry and other…