Aboriginal Participation in Canadian Environmental Assessment: Gap Analysis and Directions for Scholarly Research

Abstract

There has emerged in recent years an increased industry and regulatory demand for the streamlining of environmental assessment (EA), and at the same time, persistent expectations by Aboriginal communities for more effective and meaningful engagement in development decisions. This paper examines the extent to which scholarly research has contributed to solutions for meaningful Aboriginal participation amidst demands for more efficient and shorter timelines for participation and decision-making. Three research priorities are identified from our assessment of peer-reviewed EA scholarly research: the need for empirical-based research assessing the impacts of streamlining on participation and the impacts of meaningful Aboriginal participation on EA efficiencies; the need for better defined scope of issues that should be addressed inside the EA process versus those that are best addressed external to EA; and the need to develop and test alternative mechanisms for Aboriginal participation at the regional and strategic levels, and their contributions to regulatory-based EA decisions.

Closing the regulatory gap: revisions to the conventional practice of ex-post plans for EIAs to protect the valued components of Aboriginal peoples in Canada

“…Booth and Skelton (2011a) found that Aboriginal concerns were not taken seriously and there was a lack of respect given to cultural rights. Moreover, inadequacies with regard to the resourcing of Aboriginal participation have been noted in several studies as a procedural component that is vital for EIAs to overcome to be effective (Baker and McLelland 2003;Booth and Skelton 2011b;Udofia et al 2016).…”

“…When done properly with Aboriginal peoples as partners, this may encourage monitoring for learning, understanding and knowledge (Noble 2015;Gallardo et al 2016;Jones and Fischer 2016) and potentially facilitate additional collaborative engagements between parties. Additionally, Udofia et al (2016) identified additional study foci that may be used to form the basis of future collaborations with Aboriginal peoples.…”