Appearing on CBC Radio morning shows in New Brunswick to discuss his new MLI report, Dwight Newman explored the impact the “duty to consult” doctrine will have on protests over shale gas development in New Brunswick.
Newman, the author of the recently released report “The Rule and Role of Law: The duty to consult, Aboriginal communities, and the Canadian natural resource sector“, tells CBC host Terry Seguin there’s a good chance those developments will trigger the duty to consult. “The question that’s going to be more difficult is what depth of consultation is required and then what kind of orderly way forward there can be”, he says.
He says the duty to consult likely won’t require consultations that are as in-depth as some groups would like to see since one of the misconceptions about the doctrine is that it gives First Nations communities the power to veto natural resource development projects.
However, he believes Aboriginal communities, the government and businesses should use the doctrine as a lever that gets them all to the table to reach an agreement on development.
To listen to the CBC Fredericton interview, click here and download the “Duty to Consult” podcast.
