Lands and Resources for Jobs: How Aboriginal Peoples Strategically Use Environmental Assessments to Advance Community Employment Aims

This paper examines whether environmental assessments (EAs) influence the ability of Aboriginal peoples to advance community employment aims in resource development projects. Environmental assessment and labour policy and practices have been conventionally understood as distinct processes. Our investigations demonstrate that EAs play a significant, if indirect, role in Aboriginal efforts to regulate resource sector work. While Aboriginal communities increasingly rely upon private negotiations with development proponents to secure resource sector employment, participation in EA processes provides Aboriginal peoples a space to negotiate language around employment commitments and leverage to secure Aboriginal employment provisions in impact benefit agreements with project proponents.