Ausenco was retained by the Lower Nicola Indian Band (LNIB) to review the application for the Highland Valley Copper Mine Life Extension (HVC MLE) project, which aims to lengthen the mine’s operational life by extending its existing infrastructure. Ausenco also collaborated with LNIB to produce an Indigenous-led Impact Assessment of the HVC mine.
This assessment is one of the first of its kind in Western Canada and plays a crucial role in articulating Indigenous interests and asserting jurisdictional capacity in decisions affecting Indigenous communities.
Client requirements
The HVC mine near Logan Lake, BC, and its proposed extension are located within the unceded territory of the Nlaka’pamux Nation, of which the LNIB is a member.
Currently operated by Teck Resources Limited through the Teck Highland Valley Partnership, it is one of the largest open pit copper and molybdenum mines in the world and is currently permitted to operate until 2028. Due to the anticipated reduction in mine production rates, HVC is looking to extend the mine’s operational life to 2040 or beyond by extracting an additional 900 million tonnes of ore through an extension of the existing site infrastructure.
The HVC mine and its proposed extension generates environmental changes that affect aspects of Nłeʔkepmx culture and their relationship with the land. Indigenous Peoples in Canada have constitutionally protected rights and title including rights to the land, subsistence resources and activities. During the 2016 review of the Federal Impact Assessment Act, Indigenous groups expressed concerns over the Crown’s ultimate decision-making authority and inconsistences in recognizing Indigenous jurisdictions and lawmaking authorities. They proposed that impact assessment reforms could help to achieve reconciliation. Recent changes to Canada’s Impact Assessment Act (IAA, 2019), and British Columbia’s Environmental Assessment Act (EAA, 2019), have included provisions for Indigenous-led impact assessments to help protect Indigenous rights and titles. These assessments allow Indigenous governing bodies to evaluate the potential impacts of proposed development projects based on their own values, concerns, and priorities.
Ausenco’s experts were engaged by the LNIB to conduct an Indigenous-led assessment to evaluate the effects of the project on LNIB’s expression of rights, titles and interests. The LNIB controlled what was assessed, the information and knowledge used, and how the assessment is conducted based on their community values and cultural heritage. Our scope includes providing regulatory, technical and engagement reviews and support to LNIB with respect to the project application for an Environmental Assessment Certificate.
The better way
The Highland Valley is an important area for Indigenous People who have historically occupied the region and continue to use the area today for traditional activities such as hunting, fishing, gathering and ceremonial and spiritual purposes.
Using a holistic approach, we collaborated with the LNIB to integrate Indigenous Knowledge and community values into the regulator’s decision-making process, supporting the preservation and strengthening of customs and traditions. Our team used relationship-based consultation and engagement to meet our clients’ unique needs, reflecting their history, natural resource issues, governance systems and place-based knowledge.
Outcomes and achievements
The Indigenous-led assessment found long-term significant impacts on LNIB’s rights and title. Our team recommended specific conditions for the issuance of the Environmental Assessment Certificate and amended permits, and provided a basis for negotiating reparation measures. Although independent from the project’s Environmental Assessment application, the assessment was filed through the regulatory review process and strengthens LNIB’s ability to influence decisions regarding consent and project conditions that may have adverse effects on their community.
By assessing impacts to the land and resources, Indigenous-led assessments support cultural sustainability, manage development impacts, and protect community values. They can also promote collaborative and shared consent models throughout all assessment stages, not just early engagement and decision-making.
While the balance between Indigenous Knowledge and western science depends on the Indigenous groups’ capacity to leverage new amendments, they provide a step towards reconciliation, providing governance and decisional power to Indigenous communities.
Although final project approval remains the responsibility of the Environment Minister, advancing the process of Indigenous-led Impact Assessments allows us to think outside the usual impact assessment process. This approach is connected to a growing international movement to recognize the rights of Indigenous peoples, as articulated by the United Nations Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, to reach free, prior and informed consent.