Duty to Consult

According to the Supreme Court of Canada, the Crown has a legal obligation to consult Indigenous peoples before decisions are made that could infringe on their rights. What meaningful consultation actually looks like has come into sharp focus this week as Prime Minister Carney met with First nations leaders about Bill C-5, which aims to fast track approvals for major infrastructure projects like pipelines or mines. So what does the "duty to consult" in Canadian law actually mean? To answer your questions, Just Asking spoke to two experts. Sara Mainville is the managing partner of JFK Law. She’s also the former Chief of Couchiching First Nation. And Deliah Bernard is Partner and Co-Founder of Roots Strategies, which is an Indigenous affairs agency. She was also a former senior Indigenous affairs adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Further Reading: What does the duty to consult First Nations, Inuit and Métis mean?