The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that
Canada's economic future is dependent, in many ways, on having more indigenous voices at the table when major development projects are being proposed and planned. Guest columnists Geordie Hungerford and Christie Stephenson write that is because many of these initiatives will involve the traditional territories of indigenous peoples or impact these territories -- and they will have a disproportionately higher impact on indigenous people and communities. This includes mining, energy (including oil and gas), telecommunications, clean technology and financial services projects.
More than half of Canadian companies are doing business on indigenous land or impacting indigenous peoples. The writers argue that across Canada, projects have failed and shareholder value has been destroyed because of lack of indigenous engagement. Take Taseko Mines' New Prosperity project and Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline. They did not adequately incorporate the rights and interests of indigenous peoples and both projects ultimately failed. These and other abandoned projects underscore that new resource projects cannot be built in Canada without first nations' prior consent.
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