FULL CONSENT FROM NATIVES ESSENTIAL, STUDY SAYS

OTTAWA A new report stresses the critical importance of getting the green light from indigenous communities before development can go ahead.

Resource companies, financial institutions, First Nations and conservation groups have issued a study by the Boreal Leadership Council which lays out principles for establishing free, prior and informed consent to resource projects, which it says is not only a legal imperative in Canada, but also benefits the affected communities and the companies involved.

Robert Walker of NEI Investments, who is a member of the Boreal Leadership Council, says full engagement with First Nations before a project begins can give resource companies certainty and helps assure long-term benefits for First Nations.

The 23-page report notes that free, prior and informed consent can’t be obtained by force, coercion, intimidation, manipulation or pressure from the government or company seeking project approval. It also says consent cannot exist when a community doesn’t have an option to meaningfully say no.

“Free, prior, and informed consent — the right of indigenous peoples to offer or withhold consent to development that may have an impact on their territories or resources — is the key to development, not a barrier,” Walker said.

The Boreal Leadership Council study suggests more could be done by government to smooth the relationship between resource developers and indigenous communities.

It notes that most Canadian environmental assessment and regulatory bodies “aren’t empowered to determine whether consent has been granted or whether consultation has been adequate.”

And it cites at length from last year’s “Report of the Special (UN) Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” which criticized the Canadian government for claiming the duty to consult First Nations could be met through existing processes and regulatory bodies.