{"id":83227,"date":"2014-05-16T10:35:00","date_gmt":"2014-05-16T10:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resourcework2.devstudio.work\/?p=83227"},"modified":"2024-11-16T16:32:11","modified_gmt":"2024-11-16T16:32:11","slug":"understanding_the_duty_to_consult","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/resourcework2.devstudio.work\/?p=83227","title":{"rendered":"Good resource development depends on understanding what the &#8216;duty to consult&#8217; is &#8211; and what it isn\u2019t"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p id=\"u12314-8\">Dwight Newman is a professor of law at the University of Saskatchewan and Canada research chair in indigenous rights in constitutional and international law.&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.macdonaldlaurier.ca\/mli-report-confusion-over-duty-to-consult-obstructing-potential-benefits-for-aboriginal-peoples\/\">He warns in a recent report published by the Macdonald Laurier Institute&nbsp;<\/a>that \u201canyone who perpetuates misunderstandings about the duty to consult is standing in the way of Canada\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u12314-11\">Here\u2019s a quick summary of Newman\u2019s key points:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"u12314-14\"><strong>The duty to consult<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u12314-19\">A 10-year-old legal requirement that says aboriginal people must be consulted about government decisions that affect their rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"u12314-22\"><strong>Three myths<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u12314-23\">1.&nbsp;The duty to consult gives aboriginal groups a veto on resource projects. (It doesn\u2019t.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u12314-30\">2.&nbsp;Governments can go ahead and approve any project they want even if aboriginal groups are opposed. (They can\u2019t.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u12314-31\">3.&nbsp;The requirement will be used by aboriginal groups to routinely block resource development. (It won\u2019t.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"u12314-35\"><strong>Four facts<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u12314-39\">The doctrine is a tool to allow government, industry proponents and First Nations to work collaboratively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u12314-42\">It compels government to consult with aboriginal groups before making decisions that might affect their rights &#8211; even if those rights are still uncertain.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u12314-47\">It allows aboriginal groups to identify key interests that may be affected by government decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u12314-50\">It compels governments to act in good faith to protect these interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"u12314-54\"><strong>Advice on how to move forward<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u12314-55\">To government and industry: Engage early with First Nations and build trust. Don\u2019t try to get away with doing the bare minimum the law requires. Act in good faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u12314-58\">To First Nations: Recognize that governments maintain the right to make many important decisions. Use the duty to consult to help find solutions that work for all parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To the courts: Avoid piling on specific legal requirements. Good collaboration requires flexibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u12314-64\">To everyone: Follow the spirit of the law, not the letter. The duty to consult will have the best results when its used to promote meaningful dialogue, not courtroom gamesmanship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"u12314-67\"><em>Peter Severinson is the research director for Resource Works.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to a recent study, misunderstandings around a key legal doctrine threaten both economic\u00a0progress and aboriginal relations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":86428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[155,27,456,48,455,52,246],"class_list":["post-83227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-renewables","tag-consultation","tag-first-nations","tag-laurier","tag-law","tag-newman","tag-pipelines","tag-policy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Good resource development depends on understanding what the &#039;duty to consult&#039; 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