The report was undertaken, in part, as a response to the lack of progress by the province on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP). The declaration includes free, prior and informed consent for activity on Indigenous territories, and it spells out how the province and Canada must act.
FNEMC says that the province has not reformed any of its mining laws to align with the UNDRIP. The only recourse for Indigenous communities is to initiate costly legal action to address non-sanctioned mining activities in their territories.
The 25 recommendations in the new report are consistent with the legal certainty that will exist once mining laws are aligned with the declaration. They offer near-term, practical options for First Nations to exercise sovereignty and consent in relation to mining activities.
In the absence of provincial government action, the report recommends that First Nations move ahead with the development of their own mining requirements based on their Indigenous laws and legal orders and exercise of their right of consent for all existing and future mining operations.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)
