British Columbia Premier David Eby plans a temporary suspension of specific sections of the province’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act after the Gitxaała First Nation Court of Appeal ruling found the online mineral claims system, which allows staking on Crown land without prior consultation, conflicts with DRIPA. The government will amend DRIPA in the current session, treat the vote as a confidence matter, and seek a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that could take up to three years, prolonging regulatory uncertainty for explorers. The Association for Mineral Exploration reports only 15% of mineral claim applications are being processed within the 90–120-day service standard, warning delays threaten the 2026 summer exploration season.

France’s central bank has liquidated its remaining 129 tonnes of gold held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, selling the “non‑standard” bars between July 2025 and January 2026 and buying replacement bullion in European markets that meets modern international bar specifications. The transaction generated a €13 billion ($15 billion) capital gain, turning a 2024 net loss of €7.7 billion into an €8.1 billion net profit for 2025, while keeping total reserves unchanged at about 2,437 tonnes now stored entirely in the BdF’s La Souterraine vault. The Bank of France still plans to upgrade a further 134 tonnes of older bars to current standards by 2028.

The Institution of Civil Engineers has warned that the UK government’s new Better Connected integrated transport strategy lacks the clear, long-term objectives and investment pathways needed to steer major rail, road and mass transit schemes. ICE argues the document omits essential components such as defined modal priorities, a sequenced project pipeline and stable funding signals that asset owners and contractors require for planning multi‑decade programmes. The critique signals continued uncertainty for large schemes needing early geotechnical investigation, corridor safeguarding and staged capacity upgrades.