On December 10, 2019, the Indigenous Committee members of the Line 3 Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committee (IAMC) formally submitted their Report on Advice to the Government of Canada and the Canada Energy Regulator. The recommendations were approved by a majority of members, and were submitted along with a minority opinion in accordance with the Committee’s Terms of Reference. That report is being shared with you here for your information.
The mandate of the IAMC is to integrate Indigenous perspectives into the monitoring and regulatory oversight of the Line 3 Replacement Program (L3RP), and provide recommendations to the federal government and regulator. The Committee brings together 16 Indigenous and two senior federal representatives to monitor the L3RP, and to provide advice to government and regulators. Committee Members have a shared goal of safety and protection of environmental and Indigenous interests along the Line 3 corridor over the lifecycle of the project.
The recommendations are the opinions and experiences of the Indigenous Committee members, based on the Committee’s programs, the perspectives of the members, and the input of Indigenous Nations. The Committee’s Terms of Reference state clearly that the Committee will ‘not replace or diminish any right of individual Indigenous Nations to be consulted and accommodated in respect of L3RP’ nor would it ‘be used as a forum for the Government to replace or substitute any direct engagement or consultation owed to, or desired by, Indigenous Nations.’
The Indigenous Committee members encourage Indigenous Nations to make use of relevant information from this report in their Nation-to-Nation discussions with the Government of Canada, and encourage the federal government to engage directly with Indigenous Nations on the advice in this report as part of their response. This report is intended to be a first step to form the basis for further discussions with impacted Indigenous Nations, the Government of Canada, and the CER.
To provide comments or feedback, or if you would like to set up a meeting with the IAMC, please contact the Committee’s Secretariat at nrcan.line3committee-comitecanalisation3.rncan@canada.ca.