ID: 2165
Presenting Author: Thomas Dyck
Session: 681 - Gender and Intersectional Analysis in IA: Showcasing theory and practice
Status: pending
This paper shares findings from a Fort McKay Métis Nation rights impact assessment on members’ current ability to exercise water-related rights.
The Fort McKay Métis Nation (FMMN) has a long history of land use and subsistence within the Athabasca Region of Northeast Alberta. FMMN members still exercise traditional practices integral to maintaining FMMN’s culture and way of life. FMMN’s use of and connection to the Region is under threat from the impacts of ongoing oil sands development. FMMN members have Indigenous rights to hunt, trap, fish, and gather resources within their harvesting territory, yet changes to the quality of the environment and resources through industrial projects and the cumulative effects of industrial development are significantly impacting members’ ability to practice their rights. In particular, continued oil sands extraction has significant adverse impacts on FMMN’s ability to exercise their rights, and members are concerned with impacts to water quality and quantity and all the cascading effects. FMMN conducted a Rights Impact Assessment (RIA) to understand the current ability of members to practice their rights related to water. This work utilized GBA+, an analytical tool that recognizes that certain identity factors may result in differences between how people are impacted by a project or decision. It is important to maintain visibility of the differential distribution of impacts among diverse groups (e.g., identify factors include gender, age, disability). The ability for FMMN members to continue exercising their rights is contingent on understanding and addressing these impacts and restoring the full ability to practice rights. This paper presents the findings from this RIA.
Thomas is an applied social scientist. He has 18 years of experience working in environmental resource management. Thomas completed his Ph.D. in Geography at Wilfrid Laurier University (2015).
Coauthor 1: Foluke Aina