L'Entente sur les répercussions et les avantages (ERA) dans le secteur minier: Un instrument qui permet de minimiser les risques et de maximiser les avantages d'un projet minier pour les communautés autochtones Le cas de l'ERA Raglan, au Nunavik (Nord-du-Quebec)
Creators: name: Bond, Bruno
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2003
Subjects: subject: Anthropology, Cultural.
subject: Geography.
subject: Economics, General.

description: In recent years, Aboriginal peoples in remote and northern regions of Canada have become increasingly involved in mining activities. In order to take advantage of the significant benefits that mining can offer, Aboriginal communities conclude Impact and Benefit Agreements (IBAs) with mining companies and occasionally with governments. IBAs, usually confidential, reinforce the involvement of Aboriginal communities in mining projects and guarantee the communities that they will receive benefits that will compensate them for any potential harmful impacts resulting from such projects. The benefits can vary significantly among IBAs, but in general, such an agreement offers business and employment opportunities and opportunities for sharing in the profits of the mining operations, as well as income from royalties and significant economic spin-offs. Not all the outcomes of the operation of a mine and the implementation of an MA are positive. There are also certain risks involved, and both the environment and the Aboriginal communities can be affected. For example, pollution can have an impact on water, wildlife and flora; revenues generated by the IBA may not be equally distributed; social structures can break down; and traditional and mixed economies may be disrupted. If these impacts are not fully managed, they can have serious consequences for susceptible Aboriginal communities, both during the operation of a mine and after its closure, and they can compromise the sustainability of Aboriginal communities. IBAs are currently not adequately formulated to minimize the cultural and socio-economic risks to Aboriginal communities from both mining projects and the agreements themselves. Moreover, it must be noted that, as yet, no formal decision-making framework for managing these risks has been built into IBAs. This study consists of two components. In the first, a review of available documentation on IBAs, particularly the Raglan IBA (Nunavik, Northern Quebec), leads us to question whether these agreements actually further the establishment of sustainable Aboriginal communities. Because of the numerous gaps in IBAs, they may be unable to contribute to the achievement of this objective. For example, IBAs do not fully cover the socio-economic development and economic diversification of Aboriginal communities affected by mines, particularly after their closure. Moreover, IBAs do not always attach the necessary importance to management of the socio-economic and cultural risks posed by their implementation and by mining operations. In the second component of the study, we apply a risk-management decision framework to the Raglan mine and IBA as a case study. Of the frameworks available to us, we decided to base our approach on the Health Canada Decision-Making Framework for Identifying, Assessing and Managing Health Risks. Although this framework was not designed for purposes of managing the cultural and socio-economic risks associated with mines and IBAs, it nevertheless provided us with information that will be useful in work on existing and future risk-management approaches. Based on our study, we consider it essential that a formal framework be put in place to manage the consequences and risks posed by mines and IBAs to Aboriginal communities. We believe that if a formal decision-making framework was incorporated into the Raglan MA and other similar agreements, and if risks were minimized and benefits maximized, mining operations and IBAs could be instrumental in the building of sustainable Aboriginal communities, even after mines have closed.