Kativik Environmental Advisory Committee

ABOUT THE KEAC

The mandate of the Kativik Environmental Advisory Committee (KEAC) is to examine and oversee administration and management of the environmental and social protection regime established under Section 23 of the JBNQA. It is the preferential and official forum for the governments of Canada and Québec, the Kativik Regional Government, the northern villages and, when applicable, the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach, regarding laws and regulations related to the environmental and social protection regime for the territory covered under the JBNQA north of the 55th parallel. One of the KEAC’s key roles is to oversee the environmental and social impact assessment and review procedures and, as required, to make recommendations to improve them. Finally, the KEAC ensures that all laws, policies and regulations applicable in the region are compatible with the provisions of Section 23 of the JBNQA.

NEWS

Study on Social Impacts, March 2023

In 2017, the KEAC initiated an examination of the social impact assessment practices applied to development projects subject to any of the four environmental assessment processes applicable in Nunavik. The goal was to produce a comparative review of the scope of these practices under the processes, to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each process, and to prepare recommendations for authorities responsible for the application and implementation of the processes. To this end, the KEAC commissioned the Secrétariat international francophone pour l’évaluation environnementale (international francophone secretariat for environmental assessment, SIFÉE) to study how social impact assessment is carried out under the four environmental assessment processes applicable in Nunavik. This project lead to the creation of three documents: the full study, an easy-to-read summary and a presentation. Note that the results, recommendations and analyses contained in the current document are the author’s own work and not official KEAC recommendations.

For more information regarding impact assessment in Nunavik, click here.

 

 

BAPE final report on the current status and management of final waste, January 2022

On March 8, 2021 the Minister of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change (MELCC) gave a mandate to the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) to realize a province-wide enquiry and consultation on the status and management of final waste. This mandate also included the territory defined under Section 23 of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA) and under Section 14 of the Northeastern Quebec Agreement. In its role as the preferential and official forum to responsible governments in the territory under Section 23 of the JBNQA, the KEAC agreed to form a special commission to co-preside over the Nunavik portion of the consultation with the BAPE. In the spirit of the principles set out under the JBNQA, the consultation was held on June 9 and 10, 2021in Kuujjuaq.

During these discussions the participants raised several key concerns: the impacts of open-air burning on local populations and the environment, inadequate funding for waste management, abandoned sites located outside municipal boundaries, regulations and programs adapted to northern realities, landfill capacity and management, and lack of access to information and support in Inuktitut/English.

The feedback from the consultation contributed to the BAPE’s final report (in French only) which was published in January 2022. The report sets out eleven strategic approaches intended to guide government decision making on matters related to waste management. Moreover, Guideline #10 focuses on remote areas and explains that residual materials management measures must be implemented as equally as possible throughout Quebec. The government must also consider the social and territorial particularities existing in a given remote area and consider these when providing the required human and financial resources as well as developing optimal residual materials management strategies in accordance with the concept of a circular economy. A summary of the report is also available in English.

Furthermore, Chapter 11 of the BAPE’s report provides information and recommendations regarding the status and management of final waste in Québec’s treaty lands, including Nunavik. The principal conclusions from that chapter reflect the common opinion of the BAPE’s Commission and each of the Nations or communities with respect to improving waste management systems in these territories.