B.C.'s lack of groundwater regulation allows Nestlé Waters Canada, a division of Switzerland-based Nestlé Group, the world's largest food company not to measure, report, or pay a penny for the millions of litres of water it draws from wells and sells back to Canadians in Western Canada.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, says First Nations continue to be ignored by both provincial and federal governments despite a legal right to be consulted on all small- and large-scale resource development projects, whether it's groundwater extraction or fracking in northeastern B.C.

"They don't want indigenous rights and interests to stand in the way," Phillip said. "Before even moving ahead with a plan, the law dictates that we need to be consulted at the outset. It's not optional."