Community Benefits Agreement strengthened by meaningful Oversight committee

I presented to the panel on the importance of having a robust community benefits agreement and those comments are reflected in part in the following:

Recommendation 82: GenPGM should provide sufficient financial support to fund key community services or organizations in support of fitness and recreational programs for workers. These programs should be carried out in existing facilities.

Recommendation 83: The Proponent should work with the Town of Marathon to establish an oversight committee comprising local and regional citizens that would have access to Project reporting and regular Project updates. GenPGM should work with the Town to identify an agreed level of funding to support the operation of the committee.

A community benefits agreement would not only establish proponent funded tangible benefits beyond short term employment, but would also provide a mechanism through which the proponent's commitments to minimize impact on the environment can be monitored and the proponent can be held accountable to the community(s) of the area.  Based on evidence presented to the panel, it is clear that historically, environmental monitoring by gov't agencies has not been frequent enough to be meaningful.  A community benefits agreement that includes environmental measures accountability is critical to the future economic success of this region. 

To be effective however, a legally binding community benefits agreement cannot be overseen solely by the municipality and the proponent, but rather must have an arms-length oversight committee which includes expertise in domains of the agreement as well as neutral community members.  It must be funded to support the task of meaningful oversight and community reporting.  

Without an oversight committee, and clear reporting mechanism, the community cannot be assured of the benefits written into an agreement.

With thanks for considering this comment in your deliberations.

Sincerely,

Sarah Newbery MD CCFP FCFP FRRMS