From 'stakeholders' to rights holders: How approaches to impact assessment affect indigenous participation in the Yukon Territory, Canada

Participation in Impact Assessment (IA) has been an ongoing and important topic for scholars, with specific emphasis on public and, more recently, Indigenous participation. While specific barriers to Indigenous participation have been identified, little work has been done on how the different approaches to IA (neutral arbitration, multi-way exchange, and legal space) have affected how these actors interact with the process. Here, we take the case of the Yukon Territory, where IA-specific constraints identified in the literature have been at least partially addressed through land claims and legislation, such as guaranteed participation and Indigenous-specific funding. Based on 17 semi-structured interviews with IA practitioners representing First Nations Governments, we find that Indigenous peoples continue to adapt their strategies for engagement, revealing a contrast between the promise of inclusion and the reality of implementation. In moving towards inclusive processes and implementing modern land claims, the challenge for IA in northern Canada remains not 'if' but 'how.'

Automated summary

Participation in Impact Assessment (IA) has been a significant topic of interest for scholars, with a focus on public and Indigenous involvement. This study examines how different approaches to IA have influenced the interaction between actors, specifically in the case of the Yukon Territory. It finds that despite efforts to address constraints through land claims and legislation, there is a contrast between the promise of inclusion and the reality of implementation for Indigenous peoples.