Funding to renew support for the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees for the Trans-Mountain Expansion Project and the Enbridge Line 3 Replacement Project

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment, this public statement of environmental and economic effects has been prepared for the renewal of the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees for the Trans-Mountain Expansion Project and the Enbridge Line 3 Replacement Project.

Summary

The Government of Canada has committed to support the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees for the Enbridge Line 3 Replacement Project and the Trans Mountain Expansion and Existing Pipeline Project over the lifecycles of the projects (50+ years).

The Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees are a collaborative engagement mechanism for meaningful participation of Indigenous peoples in the oversight of project activities and support Indigenous peoples to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the use of their lands or territories, by ensuring that Indigenous world views and knowledge are meaningfully reflected in the construction, operation and decommissioning of both Enbridge Line 3 Replacement and Trans-Mountain Expansion projects.

Indigenous members of the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees and federal partners (Natural Resources Canada, Canada Energy Regulator, Transport Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Canadian Coast Guard) work together as partners in project activity oversight. For example, the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees have distinct Indigenous Monitoring programs which enable Indigenous Monitors to work alongside the Canada Energy Regulator on project inspections and compliance activities.

Funding was applied to support capacity-building in the areas of monitoring and oversight, emergency response planning, as well as community engagement to help inform the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees’ strategic directions and initiatives.

The associated engagement and dialogue with Indigenous communities have helped guide natural resource projects to reduce potentially negative environmental and cultural impacts. Proposed measures contribute to accelerating economic reconciliation through natural resource development, improving predictability and transparency in Canada’s regulatory system, mitigating barriers to Indigenous inclusion in resource development projects, and promoting investment certainty in Canada’s resource sectors.

Strategic environmental analysis

The Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment analysis found that although the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees are not likely to have significant implications on GHG emissions, nature or biodiversity, this proposal is likely to result in positive environmental effects related to monitoring and oversight of the Trans-Mountain Expansion and Enbridge Line 3 Replacement projects.

This proposal would allow Indigenous communities to monitor cumulative effects of resource development and improve emergency preparedness. In particular, the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees are informed by the Terrestrial Cumulative Effects Initiative, which included projects to support Indigenous groups’ understanding of cumulative effects. This was 1 of the 8 accommodation measures for Indigenous groups potentially impacted by the Trans-Mountain Expansion.

Additionally, Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committee Indigenous Monitors oversee environmental restoration work following the completion of the pipeline. Examples include:

• prevention of (to the extent possible) and rapid responses to hazardous spills
• monitoring of safety conditions
• other environmental considerations in construction and post-construction activities

Combined, these activities will lead to lower levels of water, soil, and air contamination. As a follow-up measure, Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committee Indigenous Monitors partner with Canada Energy Regulator Inspection Officers to hold inspection-related meetings and emergency response exercises, as well as regulatory activities, which contributes to strengthened Indigenous participation in identifying environmental, cultural, and socio-economic risks and effects in terrestrial monitoring.

Climate hazards, notably wildfires and extreme weather events, were found to have the potential to impact the timely delivery of monitoring activities. That said, as in previous years when climate impacts limited the ability to deliver similar programming, the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees implemented flexible funding models to support community needs and interests.

The Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees will rely on well-established, positive relationships between the federal government, regulators, and the project proponent (the Trans Mountain Corporation and Enbridge) to ensure that site visits and monitoring activities occur safely, despite hazards and extreme weather. The Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees developed distinct Indigenous Monitoring Programs, which are well-established, with Indigenous Monitors already trained and available to be deployed swiftly.

Federal Sustainable Development Strategy considerations

The Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees make a positive contribution to advancing the 2022 to 2026 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy with respect to Goals 4, 10 and 16:

• Goal 4: Promote knowledge and skills for sustainable by providing different opportunities for training to support capacity-building in Indigenous communities, including training on the federal regulatory process, as well as lands-based, cultural, and emergency management learnings. Participants may include (but are not limited to) Indigenous leadership, Elders, youth and technicians
• Goal 10: Advance reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and take action to reduce inequality by working together as partners to advance reconciliation with First Nations and Métis governments and implement the United Nations Declaration Act including Action Plan Measures 12 and 34
• Goal 16: Promote a fair and accessible justice system, enforce environmental laws, and manage impacts by regularly engaging impacted Indigenous Nations—as the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees are not rights-holding bodies—to support self-determination by ensuring that responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative input is used to advise the Government of Canada, including the regulator. The Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees are reviewing their Terms of Reference and engaging impacted Indigenous Nations on a potential expansion of the scope of the work and priorities

Strategic economic analysis

A strategic economic analysis was conducted and found that the proposal will have medium short-term impacts and no long-term impacts. There may also be indirect long-term economic benefits that accrue to Indigenous communities along the pipeline route. Priorities will be to build capacity to support participation in regulatory processes, environmental and socioeconomic monitoring, and emergency preparedness.