National Centre
for First Nations
Governance
CONSULTATION FACT SHEET 2
CONSULTATION PROCEDURES/STEPS
DEFINITION:
Consultation procedures refer to the series of steps that need to be taken to accomplish a
successful consultation,
PURPOSE/IMPORTANCE:
First Nations who receive requests to participate in various consultations related to
territories and natural resources need a tool which sets out a step by step process to ensure
that governments fulfil their duty to consult and accommodate
By explicitly defining these procedures First Nations can ensure that the consultation
process to take place in a way that is compatible on Aboriginal principles and reflects the
principles enunciated by the Supreme Court of Canada. Written guidance can help protect
constitutional rights
The legal duty to consult and accommodate carries with it numerous obligations,
including key procedural requirements. These can include providing information
regarding actions or projects in a timely fashion, ensuring adequate funding of First
Nations being consulted, listening to the concerns of First Nations and incorporating those
concerns into the decision-making process, and ensuring that the process of consulting
with First Nations is separate from other public consultations
By defining its expectations a First Nation is in a stronger position to resist general
consultations mechanisms, such as environmental assessment regimes, which in most
cases do not provide a process sufficient for governments to adequately discharge their
duty to consult and accommodate.
DESCRIPTION:
Procedures set out timeframes and tasks – from a First Nation’s perspective – that clarify
its understanding of comprehensive and meaningful participation both with the Crown
and with project proponents.