Wednesday, 19 October, 2022
11:00am  12:30pm   

Government update followed by updates on the Ring of Fire 
⏱11:00 am to 12:30 pm 90 minutes

The ongoing efforts to modernize Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Act is contrasted by ongoing project-level assessments in the Ring of Fire:

1. Update on Modernizing Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Act
An overview will be provided by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

2. Indigenous-Driven Infrastructure Development: Insights from Proponent First Nations on Road Development in the Ring of Fire area
Two northern Ontario First Nations, Marten Falls First Nation (MFFN) and Webequie First Nation (WFN), are leading the development of multiple road projects within the Ring of Fire area and their traditional territories as proponents. Insight will be provided into MFFN’s and WFN’s experiences as project proponents and what their status as proponents means for building capacities to facilitate their long-term visions for community development and self-determination.

3. Invitation to [Indigenous Women’s] Voices in Impact Assessment
The Invitation to Voices Project’s objective is to build Indigenous women’s capacity to participate in impact assessments (IAs) through a multi-phase research and training process. The presentation will highlight barriers that intersectional identities have historically faced while participating in IAs and identify strategies to ensure that the voices of Indigenous women and gender diverse people are intentionally and authentically included in such spaces moving forwards.

4. Health Impact Assessment in the Federal Impact Assessment Process: A Value Added
Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is an evidence-based systematic framework that uses a health lens to assess the potential positive and negative impacts of a project or policy on community health and the distribution of those impacts within the community. In federal assessments, the Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines (TISG) provide a proponent with direction and requirements for the Impact Statement. The HIA process outlined in this presentation has been aligned to the IA process and uses terminology in keeping with the TISG. This presentation will also provide a high-level overview of the Webequie Supply Road Project HIA.