Indigenous input will be part of new monitoring strategy

April 5, 2016.

The Alberta government announced Tuesday that it is doing away with the Alberta Environmental Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Agency and taking on monitoring of the environment as a “core responsibility.”

The government’s move is in response to an independent review, which determined contracting the services to an external agency was not the right delivery model.

 “This is core government business on the level of public health and public safety,” said Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips.

The new approach, she adds, will ensure stronger transparency and accountability for Albertans.

Eriel Deranger, spokesperson for Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, says she will be withholding any judgement on whether the government’s newest model, a change they were first told about in February, will deliver where AEMERA failed to.

“First Nations were pretty critical of what was AEMERA going to do that was going to be better than any of the other agencies that (the government) created in the past. I don’t think we had any hope – it was just more of the same for us … because the structure of AEMERA was developed without direct consultation or involvement from First Nations,” said Deranger.  

Phillips says the new model will take the “best elements” of AEMERA. The science advisory panel will be independent of the government and report directly to Albertans on the province’s monitoring and science system. It will provide independent advice to the new monitoring and science division on the collection, analysis and reporting of data. This new division will be led by Dr. Fred Wrona, who will be moving over from AEMERA, as will most of the scientists and frontline workers.

“We will also build on the progress made on traditional ecological knowledge and ensure integration of traditional knowledge into the panel’s work,” said Phillips.

“We have had some preliminary discussion (with First Nations) and certainly with the traditional knowledge panel that exists right now,” she added.

Phillips says that the change in the monitoring model will provide the government with the resources it needs in order to follow through with commitments it has made to Indigenous engagement and participation.

“We very clearly have issues related to community-based monitoring and Indigenous participation that the previous government was not addressing and, in a constrained fiscal situation, it became difficult for me to address as minister as well,” she said.

Phillips said she met last week with her federal counterpart on re-working the Joint Oil Sands Monitoring agreement, which coordinated monitoring between the federal and provincial governments. JOSM initially had First Nations representation, including ACFN, Mikisew Cree, Fort McKay, and Chipewyan Prairie Dene. However, by June 2014, the last First Nation, Fort McMurray First Nation, withdrew its membership. 

“We’re in the preliminary phases of negotiating a new one and that will involve First Nations as well,” said Phillips.

Deranger says there has been “some very, very, very preliminary discussions … but no real conversations of substance at this point” about changes in JOSM.

She says she would like to see First Nations have input into mandates and goals.

“I hope they will change their process for the development of these kinds of bodies. In the past it’s been sort of consent after production …. I would really hope there would be a much more robust engagement process at the beginning for what these panels, groups or advisory boards would be,” she said.

Deranger says she is pleased that the government is talking about the restructuring of “these agencies, which is well overdue. Only time will tell at this point how effective and efficient these new bodies and restructurings will really be and if the government is going to meet their commitment of this renewed relationship with First Nations in a much more meaningful way.”

AEMERA was established in 2014 with the mandate of co-ordinating province-wide environmental monitoring and evaluation. It will continue operating while the transition takes place.