ID: 1709
Presenting Author: Nancy Dea
Session: 592 - Streamlining IA in an era of global uncertainty
Status: pending
This presentation addresses overlapping impact assessments and the need for better engagement and communication to improve public participation and harmonization.
50 years ago, the first modern treaty was signed in Canada. The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA) established a legal and constitutional framework for governing land management, local self-governance, and traditional ways of life. It aims to empower Inuit, Naskapi and Cree communities to contribute to decisions that affect their homeland and social well-being by setting out an environmental and social protection regime aimed at minimizing negative environmental and social impacts of development projects by ensuring community participation in the assessment process and protecting Indigenous rights, societies, economies, and wildlife resources.
Beyond the impact assessments established under the JBNQA, other processes provided for in various Indigenous land use agreements as well as federal and provincial legislation may be simultaneously triggered by a project in Nunavik, depending on its nature, jurisdiction as well as activities and impacts. This multiplication of IA processes is a recurring problem in the region. Despite various efforts over the decades to identify lasting solutions to the coordination of IA processes, the absence of a formal and systematic mechanism, and advances in coordination have struggled to be sustained over time.
This presentation aims to expose issues with overlapping processes in the region, as well as challenges to modernize engagement practices to benefit and enhance the public participation and ultimately ensure that clear and accessible communications are central to harmonization efforts.
Nancy Dea works at an Environmental Analyst for the Kativik Environmental Advisory Committee and has spent over 2 decades working on various environmental files in the region of Nunavik, Québec.
Coauthor 1: Christine Lambert