Establishing a new 2022 Ring of Fire Commission / ( namely ) A NEW COOPERATIVE Regional Assessment MODEL overseen by CANADIAN MINISTERIES AND INDIGENOUS GOVERNING AUTHORITIES

SYNTHESIS REPORT | Regional Assessment in the Ring of Fire | Scott and Atlin 2020 28April...re-submitted to IAAC , this April 28-2022../ for consideration. 

  THE INDIGENOUS GOVERNING AUTHORITIES..encompassing this Ring of Fire area , submit that , to move forward in cooperation , and serious participation,  Indigenous Peoples must be part of the planning and process in any Regional Assessments that pertain to or affect their concerns,  their future and their culture and their livelihoods . 

  The Govt . Ministeries , both Federal and Provincial ( with the advent of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission & its recommendations) are now entering into a new era of reform when interacting with FN COMMUNITIES. Statements from the following report clearly indicate  adamantly the need for a " new partnership methodology " between Govt .and First Nations .

REGIONAL ASSESSMENT 

JOINT COMMISSION MODEL

< This submission / SYNTHESIS report  may be seen in its entirety by contacting the author at the bottom of the page .>

" Governing Authority (IGA) in the region. The team convened a day-long meeting with 14 community representatives, elders and leaders from Neskantaga First Nation in Thunder Bay on January 23, 2020 to discuss, debate and refine the models. The discussion was audio-recorded with permission, transcribed and coded. From there, the team finalized our recommendations and began drafting this report.
Key messages
The key messages communicated to us by knowledge holders, elders, and leadership in the community engagement sessions included:
• The people in the communities are the real authority; the grassroots and the elders must be heard for any process to be legitimate;
• The appropriate Indigenous Governing Authority (IGA) must be a collective of affected First Nations, rather than one of the existing tribal councils or regional organizations, such as NAN or Matawa (on the basis of ecological connectivity and socio-cultural impacts related to probable infrastructure locations);
• An Elders Advisory Council should be an integral element at all stages of decision- making;
• The ongoing state of social emergency must be addressed first, before new projects can be adequately considered. Communities must be satisfied that any potential new projects or infrastructure will mitigate the crises, and enhance long-term social, cultural and ecological sustainability; and,
• Any regional approaches need to provide a framework that can effectively guide project-level assessments and approvals, which in turn lead into community-level consent processes, in line with local protocols.
Results
The recommended model includes a semi-permanent Ring of Fire Commission to be established by agreement between the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change and an Indigenous Governing Authority made up of impacted and interested First Nations. The Commission, in conjunction with an Elder Advisory Council, should develop a framework for cumulative effects; baseline data (including on the ongoing social emergency); criteria for a modified ‘positive contribution to sustainability’ test; and a regional plan. Under the umbrella of the Commission, we recommend a joint panel review process for making subsequent decisions about individual projects proposed for the region, within the parameters established by the Commission. Decisions on individual projects will subsequently be made independently by each relevant governing authority." 

For more information, contact Professor Dayna Nadine Scott, dscott@osgoode.yorku.ca

* see attachment,  Synthesis report