#FraserInstitute: Establishing clear consultation guidelines, recognizing Indigenous property rights, key to providing certainty for pipelines, resource projects
CALGARY —The federal government could provide greater certainty for major resource development projects—such as pipelines—by establishing clear consultation guidelines and recognizing Indigenous property rights, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. “ Uncertainty surrounding Indigenous consultations is the biggest impediment to resource development in the country right now, and unless a clear framework for what adequate consultation looks like is established, Canada will continue to lose out on investment ,” said Jason Clemens, Fraser Institute executive vice-president. The study, Assessing the Duty to Consult , was written by Malcolm Lavoie, assistant law professor at the University of Alberta. It finds that the duty to consult, which is a constitutional obligation, creates uncertainty because the specific requirements for consultation are determined on a case by case basis. The du...