Appendix 5: Aboriginal Issues and Concerns Related to Significance

The following is a compilation of points raised by Aboriginal peoples. It is based upon information derived by the researchers through the literature review, case study review and interviews.

Methodology for Determining Significance

• Use habitat alteration, disruption and destruction guidelines to address significance for the project.
• Rules and principles to determine significance should include the precautionary principle; incorporating the duration, extent, severity and probability of EAs; considering the vulnerable stages of aquatic life; modelling to address assumptions; and using ranges of highs and lows.
• Unless the predicted impacts give the RA a good idea of what the important impacts are likely to be and their significance, approval should not be given for the project to proceed.
• Redefine terms related to significance to ensure they are understood clearly (i.e. “slightly,” “short-term,” “long-term,” “moderate” and “minor”).
• Candidate VECs should include species important to Aboriginal groups.
• The Review Panel should take a broader approach to examine potential cumulative effects.
• Thresholds of significance should be lowered. They are currently set very high and this makes it difficult to classify any environmental effect as significant.
• Determination of significance should be expended to include effects significant to Aboriginal peoples, and not be limited only to those defined by the Act.

Consultation

• Make all results readily available to the community group(s).
• Identify the community group(s) as the focal point for consultations.
• Consult with community residents most likely to be affected.
• Hold hearings in the communities most affected by proposal.
• Include local communities affected by proposals in the design and consultation processes.

Process and Protocol

• Start consultation in the exploration stage, well before the development or production stages.
• Develop and agree on a process for future consultations.
• Governments need a thorough understanding of the historical transformation, current conditions and future visions of the affected communities.
• Employ reasonable effort and analysis to determine the existence of Aboriginal rights, the implications of resource management or development activities on those rights, and whether the approval of the proposal can co-exist with Aboriginal rights.
• Conduct consultations with Aboriginal peoples in a manner consistent with government-to-government relationships.
• Hold round tables with communities, stakeholders and proponents.
• A process for verifying the proponent’s “issues database” is needed.
• Hold comprehensive discussions on the predicted potential effects that the project may have.

Duty to Consult

• Upgrade the Act to reflect recent and current case law in respect of Aboriginal and Treaty rights (i.e. Delgamuukw, Marshall).
• Greater consultation is needed with the proponent and the RA in the EA process.
• Ensure Metis people have an opportunity to participate in the EA and be meaningfully consulted throughout the EA process.
• Meet with the Minister of Environment to ensure that Aboriginal issues are addressed.
• A legislative authority is required to ensure that the proponent works with the affected communities.

Role of Government in EA

Legislative Requirements

• Protect section 35(1) of the Constitution Act (1982) by embodying them in federal legislation.
• Respect the rights of Aboriginal peoples and their relationship to their lands, environment and natural resources.
• Incorporate sections on EA into the implementation plans of land claims and self-government agreements.
• The proponent must identify all government agencies and other organizations involved in the regulation, monitoring and/or management of proposed projects.

EA Policy

• Broaden the scope of “significance” to include long-term and cumulative impacts, and to capture Aboriginal relationships to traditional lands (historical and current use) and unextinguished rights.
• Formalize a regulatory process to ensure that commitments are met by proponents and RAs.
• In evaluating impacts on Aboriginal peoples:
  • Spiritual, cultural and social differences must be recognized.
  • Aboriginal goals for social, political and economic development must be recognized.
  • Aboriginal peoples involvement in all phases of the planning process must be ensured.
  • Methods appropriate to Aboriginal peoples must be used.
• Create a framework that managers of EA and development planning projects can use to ensure appropriate inclusion of Aboriginal peoples and their knowledge as part of EA and development planning processes.
• Create a step-by-step approach to assist Aboriginal peoples to deal with projects of impact on their environment and way of life.
• Relevant environmental, social, economic and cultural standards, guidelines and objectives should guide the determination of significance.
• Scoping requirements of the process should be clarified in the Act to draw a clear distinction between “scoping of the project” (what constitutes the project) and “ scope of the assessment” (what will be considered during the course of the assessment).
• A single EA regime should be established.
• A proponent code of conduct should be established.

Role of Aboriginal Peoples in EA

• A “cookie-cutter” approach should not be used to create an artificial Aboriginal viewpoint or set of issues.
• Recognize that oral history is a valid and relevant form of research for establishing significance.
• Use the traditional knowledge and experience of Aboriginal peoples for regional planning.
• Take into account oral forms of communication and traditional land management practices.
• Increasing Aboriginal participation in the process or improving consultation methods will be of no effect if decision-makers ignore recommendations of fundamental importance to Aboriginal peoples.
• If the Act is to have any legitimacy or integrity with Aboriginal peoples, it must ensure that EA is comprehensive and that Aboriginal peoples are included in the process from beginning to end.
• Develop an environmental protection plan in cooperation with Aboriginal peoples.
• Include traditional knowledge.

Decision Making

• Dynamic, evolving local EA regimes with clearly defined operating procedures and guidelines should be developed?.
• Remove the discretion of the RA to determine significance by developing schedules for categories of activities (statutory schedules, checklists).
• Harmonize the Act with land claims and self-government agreements. The jurisdiction of Treaty Nations must be recognized.
• Decisions concerning the territories of Aboriginal peoples must be made by those who have travelled and worked the land.
• Informed decisions are made by those who know the land.

Time and Resources

• If Aboriginal groups cannot provide details of cultural and sustenance resources within the study area, the proponent must commission such studies as necessary to identify the presence of such resources.
• Instantaneous and written translation of process and materials should be available.
• Aboriginal groups should be able to carry out their own reviews of projects. Additional financial and human resources should be provided to Aboriginal groups to participate more effectively in the EA review.
• Government should provide training and/or funding to Aboriginal groups to eliminate the serious lack of education, expertise and technical training.
• Additional time and resources would afford Aboriginal groups the opportunity of meeting their own research requirements using their own methods. (Aboriginal people continually expressed the need for additional time and resources when participating in the EA process; most of their available human resources are focussed on negotiating land claim agreements).

Internal Community Processes

• Clearly define local processes.
• Develop and complete historical reviews of traditional land use to determine spiritual, cultural and sacred areas.
• Assess archaeological sites using traditional knowledge.

Participation by Aboriginal Groups

• Aboriginal groups recommended being more adequately involved in various stages of the EA process, including development of management and monitoring plans.
• Project approval should be subject to the development of various management and monitoring programs considered necessary to ensure effective environmental management and to ensure Aboriginal issues and concerns are addressed.
• There was additional need for time to allow for translating key documents in the EA process.
• Elders also recommended funding to record their laws that are important to protect.
• In some instances, Aboriginal groups did not receive adequate participant funding and could not fully respond to the proponent’s EIS.

Traditional Knowledge

• Traditional knowledge should be included in designing and conducting further baseline information studies related to the project.
• To ensure traditional knowledge is properly acknowledged and recorded, Elders recommended that it be gathered on an individual basis.
• The proponent should demonstrate how traditional knowledge would be used throughout the life of the project.

Future Monitoring and Review

• Aboriginal groups should be involved in all future monitoring of the project and any further reviews that may be required.
• Uncertainties in predicting impacts should result in the project being closely monitored.
• If work was not completed by Diavik’s comprehensive study review, the outstanding matters should be subject to further review under an independent EA panel.
• Aboriginal groups recommended that there be more information gathered with regard to various environmental components of projects (i.e. marine mammal studies, development of a polar bear management zone, lakes and tributaries, and locations of proposed project facilities).
• The proponent should file additional information and prediction about impacts where serious uncertainties regarding environmental impacts remain.
• Gaps in knowledge and information could be filled by Elders, who could provide valuable insight in existing resources throughout the project area.

| Previous | Contents | Print Version | Next |