DAY 1: TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2011
8:00 Registration Opens and Coffee Served
9:00 Opening Remarks from the Co-Chairs
John Donihee
Barrister and Solicitor, John Donihee Professional Corporation
John Kearney
President, NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines and
Chairman and CEO, Canadian Zinc Corporation
9:15 Key Legislative and Regulatory Developments to Improve Process in Northern Project Development: Examining Federal Initiatives and In-House Initiatives by the MVLWB
Zabey Nevitt
Executive Director, Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board
Stephen Traynor
Director, Resource Policy and Programs Directorate
Indian and Northern Affairs
- Status, timelines and impacts of new and proposed federal legislation and regulatory initiatives:
- Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act (NuPPAA)
- Nunavut Water Regulations
- NWT Surface Rights Board Act: Preparing a framework to provide access to privately held land, and recourse mechanisms in the event of non-agreement
- NWT Waters Act
- Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act
- Other key legislative and regulatory initiatives
- Gearing-up operational and compliance units for the new legislation:
- What you should do now to stay ahead of the game and minimize “teething” issues
- Getting assistance with implementing changes to comply with new requirements
- Assessing potential impacts of new and proposed initiatives on systems, staff, timelines and budgets
- New developments within the MVLWB initiative to streamline and simplify regulatory process and improve clarity and certainty across the MVLWB, the Gwich’in Land and Water Board, the Sahtu Land and Water Board, and the Wek’èezhìi Land and Water Board:
- Setting effluent quality criteria on waste from a project/development:
- Current status and timelines for policy and guideline implementation
- To whom does the proposed policy apply?
- Implications of the proposed policy on the water licensing process: How are licence conditions set? What information is to be submitted with applications?
- Expectations for waste management in the Mackenzie Valley:
- Status for implementation of the Guidelines for Waste Management
- Assessing format requirements for waste management plans
- Expectations for closure planning in the Mackenzie Valley:
- Status for implementation of the Closure and Reclamation Plans Guidelines
- Success stories: How have the Guidelines assisted companies currently developing or updating closure and reclamation plans?
- Assessing project/development impacts to date from the recently adopted INAC Spill Contingency Planning Guidelines
- Update on the current status of the Action Plan to improve the northern regulatory regime
- Current appetite for and implications of amalgamation of various Boards established under land claims agreements
10:15 Interactive Q&A Session on Legislative and Regulatory Developments
Moderator:
John Donihee
Barrister and Solicitor, John Donihee Professional Corporation
Speakers:
Zabey Nevitt
Executive Director, Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board
Stephen Traynor
Director, Resource Policy and Programs Directorate
Indian and Northern Affairs
Following on from the last session’s overview of current legislative and regulatory initiatives across the north of Canada, this session provides all stakeholders in northern economic development – from governments, Aboriginal groups and industry and others – the opportunity to ask burning questions as to what the various initiatives are intended to achieve, timelines for development and implementation, and how these changes will impact project planning and development north of 60°. If you ever felt uncertain of or needed clarification on what these developments might mean for project planning and program initiation and continuity for your organization, this is your opportunity to ask.
10:45 Networking and Refreshment Break
11:00 Key Perspectives on Methods to Improve the Northern Regulatory Process
Moderator:
John Donihee
Barrister and Solicitor, John Donihee Professional Corporation
Panel:
Robert Esser
Senior Advisor, Lands Administration, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
John Kearney
President, NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines
Chairman and CEO, Canadian Zinc Corporation
Richard Nerysoo
President, Gwich’in Tribal Council
Stakeholders have differing views on the way in which the federal government is handling efforts to reform the northern regulatory regime to develop the region’s resource potential while ensuring a better process to protect the environment. In this session, key industry, Aboriginal, and government stakeholders compare perspectives and provide creative suggestions on how they can work more effectively and efficiently with each other and with the federal government to develop the region’s resource potential.
12:30 Networking Luncheon for Speakers and Delegates
1:45 Maximizing the Utility of the Northern Project Management Office in Facilitating Project Development in the North
Stephen van Dine
Associate Vice President, Northern Project Management Office
Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
The NPMO was established in September 2009 as a core program within CanNor to support economic development in the North. NPMO’s doors have been open since May 2010 to provide project management assistance to proponents of northern resource projects, yet few proponents – or even other government bodies or Aboriginal groups - understand the relationship between CanNor and the NPMO, NPMO’s mandate and powers, who the key staff are, and how they can help proponents manage regulatory complexity across the North. In this session, NPMO demonstrates what it can do for proponents to “unlock” project development in the North, and how it can help proponents save both time and money in the regulatory process.
- What is the NPMO? What is NPMO’s relationship to CanNor?
- Exploring NPMO’s mandate, process, and current projects and timelines
- How can NPMO help proponents navigate project development hurdles in the North?
- NPMO’s path finding and regulatory project management function
- What is the extent of their powers to provide assistance? Does NPMO provide a one-window process?
- Factoring the NPMO into a proponent’s project development process
- NPMO’s role in working with communities affected by particular proposed projects
- Understanding the extent of NPMO’s function in the consultation process
- Who to contact at NPMO and when
- Interactive Q&A period between NPMO and delegates
2:30 Networking and Refreshment Break
2:45 Moving Efficiently Through Impact Assessments into Permitting
Vern Christensen
Executive Director, Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact
Review Board
Mark Cliff e-Phillips
Executive Director, Wek’èezhìi Land and Water Board
Kevin O’Callaghan
Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
- Anticipating impacts of environmental assessments on project timelines by understanding the mechanics behind environmental impact timelines:
- What information do industry, Aboriginal groups, government, and communities need as part of the EA process, and when?
- Timing considerations within the proposed Nunavut Environmental Impact Assessment legislation
- Recent experience with some of the first Type A Water Licences to go through the YESSA process into the Water Board Permitting process in Yukon
- Gaining perspectives of the assessing body (MVEIRB) and the permitting body (MVLWB) on how these processes interact in NWT
- Ensuring that your project moves quickly through assessment and seamlessly into and through permitting
- Top tips to improve timeline predictability and quality in Northern project development
4:00 Building Critical Impacts of NuPPAA on Project Approvals Processes into Strategies and Timelines
Gary Nicholl
Senior Policy Specialist, Resource Policy and Programs Directorate
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
The proposed Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act (NuPPAA) is a significant legislative initiative for all stakeholders involved in project development in Nunavut – regardless of sector type. The NuPPAA provides an opportunity for innovation and unprecedented improvement compared to other Northern legislation as it seeks to add clarity, predictability and transparency to the land use planning and environmental assessment process in the territory. Whether you represent industry, Inuit groups or various levels of government, this session will help you to determine the key impacts of NuPPAA on your current and proposed projects, what you will need to do to comply with the proposed Act, and what timing considerations should be built into your strategies.
- Putting the proposed Act into the context of Northern Resource Management
- Overview of how the proposed Act has evolved, and estimated timelines going forward
- What types of project will the proposed Act apply to?
- Examining unique features of the NuPPAA relevant to the project approvals process in Nunavut:
- Key differences between NuPPAA requirements and the Nunavut project approvals process prior to the legislation
- Summary comparison of key differences between process in Nunavut after NuPPAA and process in Yukon and NWT
- Impacts of NuPPAA on project timelines:
- Understanding the regulatory process under the proposed Act
- Transitioning from the proposed new Act to implementation:
- Key factors for compliance and project approval success
4:45 Day 1 Summary Remarks by Co-Chairs Program Adjourns
DAY 2: WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2011
8:00 Registration Opens and Coffee Served
9:00 Opening Remarks from the Co-Chairs
9:15 Understanding the Impacts of Critical Recent Decisions Relating to First Nations and Inuit Consultation on Northern Project Development
Keith Bergner
Partner, Lawson Lundell LLP
Industry, Aboriginal peoples, various levels of Government, and administrative tribunals all have a vested interest in a clearer understanding of the consultation process; yet the Aboriginal consultation process in the course of permit and environmental assessment approvals is creating frustrations between all groups concerned. What is behind the large number of appealsand judicial reviews over consultation issues, and how are significant recentdecisions affecting project development north of 60?
- Implications of the decisions in Rio Tinto Alcan, Little Salmon/ Carmacks, Standing Buff alo, North Arrow Mining, Qikitani Inuit Association and other cases relevant to the North
- What does the decision in Rio Tinto Alcan mean for the role northern Boards and Tribunals?
- Who is required to consult?
- Who determines whether consultation has been adequate?
- Understanding the nature of consultation in the context of modern land claim agreements after Little Salmon/Carmacks.
10:15 Networking and Refreshment Break
10:30 Using Consultation as an Opportunity for Project Development: Going Beyond a Reactive Approach to Recent Case Law
Moderator:
Maria Morellato, Q.C.
Partner, Mandell Pinder Barristers & Solicitors
Panel:
Donald S. Bubar
President and CEO, Avalon Rare Metals Inc.
Steve Ellis (Tentatively confirmed)
IMA Manager, NWT Treaty #8 Tribal Corporation
Robert Esser
Senior Advisor, Lands Administration, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
The recent Supreme Court of Canada and Federal Court decisions on the duty to consult are creating an interpretive dilemma for all stakeholders in the North – from Aboriginal groups and industry to various levels of government. How is each group interpreting the case law? Are consultation practices changing as a result, and how quickly are the various groups responding to the issues raised by the decisions? Beyond the case law, all parties playing a role in Northern development are asking how the necessary consultation process can work to the advantage of all involved:
- Ensuring that Aboriginal rights and voices are respected and accommodated
- Providing industry with the degree of certainty required for them to develop their business plans and forecast costs, and
- Enabling governments to push forward on policy initiatives.
This panel discussion examines views from each of the key Northern stakeholder groups on what they want from the consultation process and explores ways in which to work together constructively to achieve common goals.
12:00 Networking Luncheon for Speakers and Delegates
1:15 Facilitating Project Development Success by Understanding Key Differences Between Land Use Planning and Process on Aboriginal Lands vs. Public Lands
Ron Cruikshank
Planning Director, Yukon Land Use Planning Council
John Donihee
Barrister & Solicitor, John Donihee Professional Corporation
John Fraser
Chief Land Administrator, Inuvialuit Land Association
- Why you need to factor key differences in land ownership in the Yukon, NWT and Nunavut into project planning, permitting and development in the North:
- What can go wrong with projects through a lack of familiarity with key differences between requirements on Aboriginal lands and public lands
- Access to Aboriginal lands and benefits: How does land ownership affect project timing?
- Where are the settled land claims areas and where are the claims under negotiation?
- One regulatory process does not fit all territories: Key considerations and steps to keep in mind when planning projects depending on where your project is located
- Assessing project timeline implications of each ownership structure
- Key differences between role and jurisdiction of federal government and boards, territorial governments and boards, and jurisdiction in settled land claims areas
2:30 Prospects for the Future Development of Oil & Gas and Mining Exploration North of 60°
John Kearney
President, NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines
Chairman and CEO, Canadian Zinc Corporation
Doug Matthews
Matthews Energy Consulting
- Future rights issuance in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut
- Analysing the NEB’s decision in the Mackenzie Gas Pipeline (MGP) Project
- Why did the MGP project take so long going through the approvals process? What went wrong, and what are the lessons learned for future projects?
- Implications for future development of oil & gas projects in the North
- What are the expectations of the NEB for future projects following the results of the MGP project?
- Examining the current state of the NEB’s review on Arctic off shore drilling, and expectations for future development
- Examining current key issues in mining exploration and development and potential impacts on future project development
3:30 Co-Chairs Closing Remarks – Program Concludes
PRE-PROGRAM MASTER CLASS
MONDAY, MAY 9, 2011 • 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M.
MAPPING THE JURISDICTIONAL AND REGULATORY PROCESS IN THE NORTH
Workshop Co-Leaders:
Kevin O’Callaghan
Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
Michelle Pockey
Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
Johanna Fipke
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut all have distinct land tenure regimes and regulatory approvals processes. These processes differ significantly from each other, sometimes even within a territory, and from processes that proponents may be familiar with in the South. Significant new proposed legislation and regulatory initiatives are also underway to improve and simplify regulatory process in Northwest Territories and Nunavut. This interactive Master Class will enable both experienced Northern project development proponents and people new to the north to gain the latest information on who you need to apply to, the timelines you need to consider and the key steps you need to take in the relevant northern jurisdiction to make your project a success.
- Charting land tenure systems in Yukon, NWT and Nunavut:
- Who owns what? Why does this matter? Key strategic, planning, and timeline considerations to factor into your projects
- Determining areas in which land tenure might change in the near future: Devolution and the status of unsettled land claims and interim agreements
- Examining jurisdiction and the regulatory framework in each
- Territory:
- What legislation and regulations govern?
- Who administers what?
- Role of the federal government departments and boards
- Role of territorial governments and boards
- Jurisdiction and role of Aboriginal and co-management boards in settled land claims areas
- Role of municipalities
- Multijurisdictional projects
- Step-by-step guide to the approvals process in each of the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut for oil and gas and mining exploration and development
- Research permits, land use permits, and environmental assessment approvals
- Areas of convergence and divergence between territories
- Areas of convergence and divergence between industries
Conference Details