Understanding consultation and engagement of Indigenous Peoples in resource development: A policy framing approach

Abstract

Canada’s legal system has repeatedly ruled that the Crown has a duty to consult with Indigenous Peoples when approving and shaping resource development projects that are located on their land or could infringe on their rights. Yet, there are still incidences where Indigenous communities and organizations find formal consultation processes, and the approach to engagement taken by industry and government, to be lacking. We use insights from the policy studies literature to argue that generating more evidence and analysis about the benefits and impacts of development is unlikely to improve consultation and engagement processes or resolve resource development disputes. We suggest that a policy framing approach, which examines how the different actors frame or define controversial and intractable policy problems, can provide insight into why disputes occur. We examine publicly available documents and statements about consultation and engagement produced by Indigenous groups, Canadian governments, and industry to identify and compare how these groups are likely to frame resource development and consultation activities.

Throughput Legitimacy and the Duty to Consult: The Limits of the Law to Produce Quality Interactions in British Columbia's EA Process

“…Rather than viewing the various characteristics of throughput legitimacy holistically, where all four factors are important to maintain legitimacy (Schmidt and Wood, 2019: 731), the Crown's primary interest is to discharge the duty to manage legal risks. This is corroborated by the interview data and other studies (Boyd and Lorefice, 2018). Given this understanding of the law, Crown actors are not likely to use the duty as an opportunity to create new relationships with Indigenous peoples.…”

An Exploratory Application of the International Risk Governance Council’s Risk Governance Framework to Shipping Risks in the Canadian Arctic

“…2.3.3 and 2.3.4. However, Indigenous peoples in Canada have constitutionally protected rights in matters relating to resource development projects located on their lands or which could infringe on their rights (Boyd and Lorefice 2018). Hence, Indigenous peoples in the Canadian Arctic are not merely stakeholders in the sense intended in the IRGC-RGF (IRGC 2017).…”

Editor’s introduction/Introduction du rédacteur

“…The next two articles (Hotte et al ; White ) explore the emergence and challenges of overseeing arm’s length entities created by Indigenous communities to further economic development and further other community priorities, and by comprehensive land claim agreements to further co‐management of resources. Peach () previously explored in Canadian Public Administration the new expectations and meaning of the “duty to consult” with First Nations flowing from Supreme Court decisions, and here Boyd and Lorefice () explore how the different frames that Indigenous and non‐Indigenous peoples bring to engagement. I took the liberty of placing two articles by Joanne Heritz in this issue since they nicely dovetail: the first provides a national perspective on Indigenous urban representation, and the second takes a closer look in three Saskatchewan cities (Regina, Saskatoon, and Prince Albert), complementing Heritz () on Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto.…”

“…; White ) étudient l’émergence et les défis posés pour superviser les entités indépendantes créées par les collectivités autochtones afin de promouvoir le développement économique et d’autres priorités communautaires, et par des ententes sur les revendications territoriales globales pour promouvoir la cogestion des ressources. Alors que Peach () avait auparavant étudié, dans Administration publique du Canada, les nouvelles attentes et la signification du « devoir de consulter » avec les Premières nations qui découle des décisions prises par la Cour suprême, ici, ce sont Boyd et Lorefice () qui se penchent sur les différents types d’encadrement apportés aux processus d’engagement par les personnes autochtones et non autochtones. J’ai pris la liberté de publier dans ce numéro deux articles par Joanne Heritz, étant donné qu’ils s’harmonisent bien : le premier offre une perspective nationale sur la représentation des Autochtones dans les centres urbains, et le deuxième article se penche de plus près sur la situation dans trois villes de la Saskatchewan (Regina, Saskatoon, et Prince Albert), ce qui complémente l’article d’Heritz () sur Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg et Toronto.…”