Thursday, 26 October, 2023
9:00am  10:20am   

a. Indigenous Consultation
⏱ 9:20 am – 9:45 am

Opportunities for Maximizing Indigenous Leadership in the Impact Assessment Process

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (the Agency) is responsible for fair, predictable, and efficient implementation of the Impact Assessment Act while also ensuring respect for the rights of the Indigenous Peoples of Canada recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. In implementing the Impact Assessment Act, the Agency works closely with Indigenous communities to collaboratively understand and assess impacts on the exercise of rights. During this presentation the Agency will discuss its approach to:

• Scoping Indigenous communities for consultation during the pre-planning phase.
• Working with Indigenous communities prior tothedeterminationonwhetheranimpactassessmentisrequiredtounderstandthecommunity’sinterestandpotentialimpactsfromtheproject;and
• Identifying communities for consultation in theIndigenous Engagement and Partnership Planattheendoftheplanningphase.

Moderator:

• Kevin Coulter, Senior Environmental Project Manager, Gannett Flemming

Presenter:

• Christine Greenaway, Associate Regional Director, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada

b. How Indigenous Communities Work With Government vs. Industry Proponents
⏱ 9:45 am – 10:10 am

What Does the Blueberry River Decision Mean for Next Generation IBAs?

In a landmark case Yahey v British Columbia, the BC Superior Court held that BC had failed to discharge the duty to consult when it failed to properly assess and manage the cumulative effects of hundreds of permits in the Blueberry River First Nation territory. The court made the point that permit-by-permit consultation does not adequately address the cumulative impacts on the exercise of Treaty rights.

Rather than appealing the decision, in January of this year, as a direct result of Yahey decision, the Blueberry River First Nation and the Province of BC entered into an Implementation Agreement, followed by similar agreements between BC and each of four additional Treaty 8 First Nations. The Agreements provide a collaborative approach to land and resource planning, cumulative effects management, and revenue sharing. They are based on on-going relationships rather than one-off project reviews.

This presentation will consider the BC Implementation Agreements and what they could mean for future Impact Benefit Agreements between resource companies and First Nations, whether in BC or elsewhere in Canada. We will discuss the opportunities, even though IBAs are negotiated on a project-by-project basis which makes it challenging to replicate the Implementation Agreement approach.

Moderator:

• Kevin Coulter, Senior Environmental Project Manage, Gannett Flemming

Presenter:

• Julie Abouchar, Partner, Certified Specialist in Environmental Law and Indigenous Legal Issues by the Law Society of Ontario Willims & Shier Environmental Lawyers LLP.

Q & A With Amanda, Julie & Christine
⏱ 10:10 am – 10:20 am