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| Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act | |
|---|---|
| Name | Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act |
| Enacted | 1998 |
| Jurisdiction | Northwest Territories, Canada |
| Related legislation | Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, Indian Act, Inuvialuit Final Agreement, Canadian Environmental Assessment Act |
| Keywords | land-use planning, Indigenous self-government, environmental assessment, co-management |
Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act
The Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act established a regional framework for land and water use, resource development, and environmental assessment in the Mackenzie Valley of the Northwest Territories following prolonged Indigenous land claim negotiations and public inquiry recommendations. It created co-management boards and planning regimes intended to integrate Indigenous institutions, regional administrative bodies, and federal statutes for oversight of activities across a vast northern watershed. The Act operates amid interactions with other instruments such as the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, the Inuvialuit Final Agreement, and Canadian judicial review by the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Act arose from the aftermath of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry led by Thomas R. Berger and from land claim settlements involving the Dene Nation, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, GwichʼinGwich'in Tribal Council, and other parties. It addressed tensions among stakeholders including the Government of Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories, industry proponents like Imperial Oil and Enbridge, and advocacy groups such as Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee. The social context included competing interests from pipeline proposals, mineral exploration by firms like Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co. and Cominco, and environmental concerns raised by researchers affiliated with institutions like the University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, and Dalhousie University.
Debate over the Act took place during the tenure of ministers including Sheila Copps and involved parliamentary committees such as the Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development. The legislative process referenced earlier statutes such as the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and agreements like the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. Political actors included members of the Liberal Party of Canada, the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, and Indigenous leaders like Matthew Coon Come. Public hearings featured submissions from organizations including Mining Association of Canada, Pembina Institute, and regional councils such as the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation.
The Act established regulatory bodies including the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board, the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board, the Mackenzie Valley Land Use Planning Commission, and the Wekʼèezhìi Land and Water Board model. It set out processes for environmental assessment, land-use planning, licensing, and permits analogous to provisions in the Fisheries Act and Navigable Waters Protection Act as they applied regionally. Provisions defined roles for Indigenous organizations like the Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated, Tłı̨chǫ Government, and the Gwichʼin Tribal Council alongside federal departments such as Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada.
A central feature was co-management with Indigenous institutions including the Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement organizations, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, and representation mechanisms referenced by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. The Act aimed to implement elements of self-determination similar in spirit to the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act and recognized the importance of Indigenous ecological knowledge cited by scholars from McGill University and University of Toronto. It created consultative regimes that involved Indigenous leadership such as chiefs from the Liidlii Kue First Nation, elders from the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, and organizations like Dene Nation.
Land-use planning under the Act required integrated regional plans addressing cumulative effects on ecosystems such as the Mackenzie River, Great Slave Lake, and wildlife corridors for species like the wood bison and caribou herds linked to the Porcupine caribou herd. Planning decisions balanced interests from mineral exploration by companies like Newmont Mining Corporation and infrastructure proposals reminiscent of the Dempster Highway debates. Environmental assessment processes drew on methodologies discussed in reports by the International Institute for Sustainable Development and standards referenced by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.
Administration involved coordination among federal bodies including Natural Resources Canada, territorial authorities such as the Government of the Northwest Territories and local Indigenous governments including the Tlicho Government and the Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated. Boards staffed by appointees from entities like the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board coordinated licensing, permitting, and monitoring with scientific input from research centres like the Canadian Arctic Research Institute and universities including University of Calgary. Funding and capacity-building efforts echoed programs operated by Indigenous Services Canada and were subject to oversight by parliamentary committees.
The Act faced judicial scrutiny in forums such as the Federal Court of Canada and the Supreme Court of Canada regarding scope, delegation, and compatibility with instruments like the Indian Act and modern treaties. Amendments and administrative changes responded to decisions and policy shifts influenced by actors including Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency reforms and debates within the House of Commons of Canada. Ongoing controversies involved resource proponents, Indigenous litigants represented by firms like Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP, and advocacy by non-governmental organizations including Ecojustice.
Category:Canadian federal legislation Category:Northwest Territories law