Common misconceptions about the duty to consult – Net Newsledger

VANCOUVER – ANISHINABEK – Governments, industry and First Nations still continue to disagree on what it takes to fulfil the duty to consult, resulting in stalled resource development projects and growing public frustration. This is despite the fact that for over 10 years, and culminating in the recent Tsilhqot’in decision, the courts have established and elaborated on the principles underpinning the duty to consult.If governments, industry and First Nations are going to trust each other and work together, we need to dispel common misconceptions about the duty to consult, agree on basic requirements and outline a path to reconciliation.First, the duty to consult is qualitatively different than consultation with the general public. It is a constitutional duty owed solely to Aboriginal people. It exists because Indigenous peoples with their own laws and customs controlled the lands and waters now called Canada before non-Indigenous people arrived. European states bent on colonization recognized that, based on their own laws, they could not simply ignore the fact of the original inhabitants: Indigenous and non-Indigenous interests had to be reconciled. The duty to consult is part of this ongoing national project.