Nippi-Albright looks to reform Saskatchewan duty-to-consult rules with private members’ bill

The Saskatoon Centre MLA says treaty rights are at risk if the consultation process remains the same as unoccupied crown land continues to be sold.

Saskatchewan First Nations and Métis Relations Critic Betty Nippi-Albright has introduced a bill she says will “improve duty to consult processes to ensure Indigenous communities, not the provincial government, determine how consultation occurs and with whom it would occur”.

She called the bill “long overdue, historic, first-of-its-kind” that will end a process “paying lip service to truth and reconciliation”.

“We’ve heard from nations that this government’s definition of consultation is often sending them registered letters, emails and nothing more. This bill aims to change that,” Nippi-Albright said Wednesday.

Legal obligations to consult First Nation and Métis communities about actions that may affect treaty rights and land are outlined in the First Nation and Métis Consultation Policy Framework.

They apply to a wide variety of decisions and actions, including the lease, grant or sale of unoccupied Crown land, which have the potential to impact:

The level of consultation required relates to how significant the government determines that potential impact to be.

Duty can range from an industry stakeholder providing written notice to a community to offering to meet with a community to “discuss the project, develop a consultation plan and determine capacity needs”.

Government Relations Minister Don McMorris, meanwhile, promised to review and potentially alter the policy in the coming year, but said he doesn’t think legislation is the best way to go about doing so.