The Victor Diamond Mine environmental assessment process: a critical First Nation perspective

Restrictive scoping has emerged as a contentious issue in environmental assessment (EA) with developments in northern Canada on Aboriginal territorial homelands. Restrictive scoping potentially leads to the exclusion of potentially affected stakeholders, constrained impact assessment, and inadequate collection of baseline information and traditional knowledge. The First Diamond Mine in Ontario, Canada, is located on the Attawapiskat River in the western James Bay region. We examined whether the scoping applied in the EA process that led to the approval of the mine addressed the needs of First Nations located southeast of the mine, specifically Fort Albany First Nation on the Albany River. Our findings indicate that the proponent, De Beers Canada Inc., with the approval of government authorities, primarily consulted and worked with Attawapiskat First Nation through the EA process and largely excluded other First Nations in the region. Limitations of EA in the context of northern Canada are identified. The potential of emerging community-based and regional land use planning in Ontario's far north is discussed.