Dwight Newman appeared on CBC North television and 680 CJOB in Winnipeg to discuss his recently released MLI report, “The Rule and Role of Law: The duty to consult, Aboriginal communities, and the Canadian natural resource sector.“
Newman highlighted the role the duty to consult, a doctrine stemming from a Supreme Court decision from about a decade ago that requires governments to consult with Aboriginal communities about projects that affect them, will play in natural resource projects in the future.
He believes the recent resignation of Shawn Atleo as the chief of the Assembly of First Nations, brought on by divisions within the organization over how to proceed with educational reform, will make it more difficult for governments to carry out its duty to consult in the future.
That’s because instead of consulting with just one organization, governments will need to communicate with a variety of disparate groups.
“If that’s the expectation for governments, it’s actually frankly impossible for it to move forward on legislative reform on something as complicated as education reform, where there will be different views between different Aboriginal communities”, Newman told Randy Henderson, the host of CBC News: Northbeat.
To watch Newman’s CBC North television appearance, click here and scroll forward to the 18:55 mark.
To listen to Newman’s 680 CJOB interview, click here and listen to the program that aired on May 7 starting at 8 p.m.
