Ontario Energy Board updates consultation requirements for oil pipelines
TORONTO — The Ontario Energy Board is issuing new guidelines to better define obligations to consult First Nations communities about “hydrocarbon pipelines,” just days after the National Energy Board opened hearings into the $15.7 billion Energy East project.
The provincial board said the revisions to the Indigenous consultation section of the guidelines issued Thursday will “streamline and clarify roles and obligations for the Ministry of Energy, the OEB and pipeline proponents.”
The Ministry of Energy will determine if a proposed project triggers a duty to consult, and if so, it will identify the Indigenous communities “whose rights are potentially adversely affected … and assess the extent of the necessary consultation.”
The ministry will then delegate to the pipeline proponents the responsibility to conduct consultations, which would include meetings with Indigenous communities to assess the potential effects on their rights, keeping the Crown appraised of the rights asserted by First Nations and discussing options to accommodate those adversely affected.