Environmental Assessment – The Firelight Group

Federal Funding Now Available for Indigenous Participation in Review of Federal Fisheries Act and Navigation Protection Act

As an update to our last post, the Federal government has now added information about applying for funding to support Indigenous involvement in reviews of the Federal Fisheries Act ($7,500 per Indigenous organization) and the Navigation Protection Act ($7,500 per Indigenous organization).Read More

Federal Funding Available for Indigenous Organizations to Participate in Environmental Assessment and National Energy Board Reviews

The deadline to apply for funding is September 9^th. All of the details about the funding program can be found here. Read on for more information about this opportunity and how to apply.

In June of 2016, the Federal government announced that they would be reviewing four key environmental and regulatory processes:

The Federal Environmental Assessment process;
The National Energy Board process;
Fish habitat protections; and
Navigation protections.

Common Failings of EA at the Core of the Enbridge Northern Gateway Court Ruling: Part 2

Part 1 of the blog post discussed the recent Federal Court of Appeal ruling that overturned Canada’s decision to approve the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project. [i] Read More

Common Failings of EA at the Core of the Enbridge Northern Gateway Court Ruling: Part 1

On Thursday, June 30th, the Federal Court of Appeal overturned a decision made by Canada to approve the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project.[i] Read More

Firelight Celebrates National Aboriginal Day

Today is the 20th anniversary of National Aboriginal Day, a celebration of Indigenous culture in Canada. It is also a day to reflect on what still needs to be done to truly respect the rights and self-determination of Indigenous peoples.Read More

Firelight Group Co-Sponsors Environmental and Social Assessment Forum in Cranbrook

Firelight’s Carolyn Whittaker is attending a two-day forum this week (Feb. 23-24) on the environmental and social assessment process in BC and Canada. The forum is taking place on the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa Nation, who are helping to host the event.

Organized by the Columbia Mountains Institute of Applied Ecology in partnership with the College of the Rockies, the forum includes five sessions exploring the BC and Federal environmental and social assessment process from both the proponent’s and community members’ perspectives. Read More

Firelight Presentation: Indigenous-led Environmental Assessment

This presentation took place on February 16th, 2016 at the Northern Planning Conference in Whitehorse

Environmental assessment (EA) has long been the primary planning and decision-making tool for major resource development in Canada, with greater influence over our shared landscapes than ad hoc strategic EAs and land and marine use planning. EAs are typically led by industry proponents who are required to follow a federal or provincial process (or both), subject to a Minister’s final decision. Read More