Rural Studies Speaker Series

Community Well-Being Monitoring in Ontario’s ‘Ring of Fire’

by Dr. Ben Bradshaw

Date: January 23, 2014
Time: 3-5 pm
Location: LA 143

Ben Bradshaw is an Associate Professor at the University of Guelph with expertise in environmental governance.  His research program on the Canadian mining sector’s use of negotiated agreements with Aboriginal communities, typically called Impact and Benefit Agreements (IBAs), has investigated their origins, effectiveness, and relationship to regulatory systems governing mining developments in Canada.  He is the originator of the IBA research network (see www.impactandbenefit.com), which brings together academics, regulators, Aboriginal peoples, industry representatives, and consultants for the purpose of identifying knowledge gaps and facilitating research to address gaps.

Presentation Overview

Mineral exploration and development in Canada has generated substantial wealth for many, but also generated significant and often persistent environmental, social, and health problems, especially for Aboriginal communities proximate to mine sites. Though a legacy remains, of late the relationship between mining firms and Aboriginal communities in northern Canada has unquestionably changed. This rebalancing is evident in cases where Aboriginal communities have effectively used regulatory review to halt mine proposals and more numerous cases where communities have established Impact and Benefit Agreements (IBAs) with mining firms to further mitigate the impacts of a local mine development and ensure delivery of community benefits. Aboriginal community determinations to resist or accept, with or without conditions, a proposed local mine can be highly variable. A key part of their challenge, be they vehemently opposed to, merely wary of, or outwardly supportive of mining, is their lack of knowledge of the likely impacts of a mine, especially with respect to community health. For communities that are concerned about their health in the context of local mine development, especially where such developments are accompanied by IBAs whose primary purpose is to ensure net benefits, there is a growing desire to augment community health surveillance and practice adaptive management.  This presentation reports on the ongoing efforts of the Eabametoong and Webequie First Nations, whose traditional territories cover the mineral rich ‘Ring of Fire’ in northern Ontario, to develop a means of tracking community health over time using community-relevant indicators.