OTTAWA – Canada’s energy regulator has named a new advisory committee that aims to change how it interacts with Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
The Indigenous advisory committee, which includes eight First Nations and Metis individuals from across Canada, is part of legislation the Liberals brought in last year to impose new rules for environmental assessments.
Cassie Doyle, chair of the Canada Energy Regulator’s board of directors, says the committee will not deal with specific projects or regulatory decision-making or provide advice on individual projects that go before the regulator for approval.
Doyle says it will instead provide more high-level insight on ways the agency can strengthen its relationships with Indigenous Peoples and better reflect Indigenous knowledge and culture in the way it regulates projects.
She says the committee could, for example, give recommendations on the management of work camps operated by energy companies.
There have been concerns in recent months about possible outbreaks of the novel coronavirus in camps located near First Nations communities.