Conference program

November 24, 2011
Session 5
11:30 a.m.

Social acceptability and public consultations – New challenges for the industry
Donald Blanchet (Canada Lithium) and Émilie Bélanger (GENIVAR)

Over the past few years, the regulatory framework and increased public awareness have prompted great changes in the way we approach and handle natural resource projects. We will present the case of the Québec-Lithium project and its commitment to an innovative consultation process.

Various levels of government across the country are revising industry regulations to take into account current issues and concerns. Moreover, the general public has become increasingly aware of and involved in environmental issues. To this we can add some recent Supreme Court judgements that concern First Nations.

All of these factors have contributed to changing the process for opening mines in a variety of settings. The industry now has the challenge of informing the general public of its activities and any choices it plans to make when bringing its mining operation into production, and this applies to all regions, not just those covered by agreements (like the James Bay Agreement).

In addition to explaining what steps the company will take, the challenge also lies in working alongside the host environment to define and carry out the project. This process now begins at the exploration phase and continues during the study phase leading up to construction and mining. At that point, follow-up mechanisms must also be put into place to continue the discussions and maximize the benefits for local communities.

During all these steps, consultation meetings provide opportunities for the company to explain its possible options and its arguments in favour of such options. This allows the project to be discussed, the concerns of the various groups noted and documented, and any suggestions analyzed and taken into consideration.

The Québec-Lithium Project provides an example of a consultation program involving target groups (economic, environmental, native, social) during all stages of the project. We will illustrate how the project evolved both physically and logistically in response to the concerns and suggestions from those involved. We will also present the various monitoring committees that were created to make sure the distinctive characteristics of all affected groups were taken into account, and we will illustrate the way in which these organizations functioned.