Discussion · Government Orders
Patrick Weiler Liberal
“We have a constitutional duty to consult Indigenous groups when projects affect their rights. In the past, courts stopped projects because governments did not do this properly. This bill creates a better consultation process that starts earlier, which helps us meet our legal duties.”
“Mr. Speaker, what we saw with the Trans Mountain pipeline was the original approval of the pipeline being challenged in court and overturned for the consultations’ not meeting the standard of section 35. What this means in practice is that where a project is going to impact a proven or claimed aboriginal right, there needs to be consultation or accommodation based on the level of impact. That is what the law states and that is what would be appropriate for any other project. It is very important. Some of the changes made here would facilitate consultation, happening both before a project site is chosen and throughout the process, through the new Crown consultation hub. This is critically important. It is not something we can legislate away. This is a constitutional obligation that we have toward first nations. The processes that have been proposed today would very much help produce a better process for that.”
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Mr. Speaker, what we saw with the Trans Mountain pipeline was the original approval of the pipeline being challenged in court and overturned for the consultations’ not meeting the standard of section 35. What this means in practice is that where a project is going to impact a proven or claimed aboriginal right, there needs to be consultation or accommodation based on the level of impact. That is what the law states and that is what would be appropriate for any other project. It is very important. Some of the changes made here would facilitate consultation, happening both before a project site is chosen and throughout the process, through the new Crown consultation hub. This is critically important. It is not something we can legislate away. This is a constitutional obligation that we have toward first nations. The processes that have been proposed today would very much help produce a better process for that.