CROWN CONSULTATION AND ACCOMMODATION REPORT for the NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. 2021 System Expansion Project (GH-003-2018) Prepared by Natural Resources Canada October 2020 Disclaimers If there is any inconsistency or ambiguity between this Report and the Canada Energy Regulator Recommendation Report (GH-003-2018), the Canada Energy Regulator Recommendation Report (GH-003-2018) shall prevail. This document (Section 9.0) contains confidential third party information that should not be disclosed without prior consultation with the Major Projects Management Office at Natural Resources Canada. - 2 - 1.0 Introduction and Overview ..................................................................................................................... - 5 - 1.1 Purpose of the Crown Consultation and Accommodation Report .......................................................... - 5 - 1.2 Project Description and Application........................................................................................................ - 6 - 1.3 Applicable Legislation.............................................................................................................................. - 8 - 1.4 Assessment of Crown Consultation Team ............................................................................................. - 11 - 2.0 Potentially Impacted Indigenous Groups ............................................................................................. - 13 - 2.1 Development of the Crown List ............................................................................................................ - 13 - 2.2 Preliminary Assessment of Strength of Claim and Project Impacts ...................................................... - 15 - 2.3 Natural Resources Canada Participant Funding .................................................................................... - 15 - 3.0 Overview of the Crown Consultation Process ...................................................................................... - 16 - 3.1 Crown Consultation Approach .............................................................................................................. - 16 - 3.2 Revised Consultation Approach and Timelines due to COVID-19 ......................................................... - 17 - 3.3 Crown Consultations - Phases ............................................................................................................... - 17 - 4.0 Summary of Consultation Activities .................................................................................................... - 20 - 4.1 Engagement by NGTL with Indigenous Groups on the Project ............................................................. - 20 - 4.2 Indigenous Engagement through the CER Hearing Process .................................................................. - 23 - 4.3 Supplemental Crown Consultations ...................................................................................................... - 26 - 4.4 Crown Approach to Engagement with the Proponent .......................................................................... - 29 - 4.5 Independent Submissions ..................................................................................................................... - 29 - 4.6 Procedural Concerns Raised by Indigenous Groups .............................................................................. - 30 - 5.0 Summary of Findings and Substantive Concerns of Indigenous Groups ............................................... - 32 - 5.1 Wildlife, Hunting, and Trapping Rights ................................................................................................. - 33 - 5.2 Freshwater and Fishing Rights .............................................................................................................. - 34 - 5.3 Vegetation, Plants, Trees, and Medicines ............................................................................................. - 35 - 5.4 Impacts on Indigenous Rights, Culture, and Traditions ........................................................................ - 36 - 5.5 Impacts on Land Rights ......................................................................................................................... - 37 - 5.6 Cumulative Environmental Effects & Cumulative Impacts ................................................................... - 38 - 5.7 Caribou and Caribou Habitat ................................................................................................................. - 39 - 5.8 Lifecycle Monitoring and Engagement .................................................................................................. - 41 - 5.9 Emergency Response, Management, and Planning .............................................................................. - 42 - 5.10 Economic Benefits ................................................................................................................................. - 43 - 5.11 Socio-economic Effects ......................................................................................................................... - 44 - 5.12 GHG Emissions and Climate Change ..................................................................................................... - 45 - 6.0 Accommodation Measure and CER Condition Amendments ............................................................... - 48 - 6.1 Policy-Based Accommodation: Terrestrial Cumulative Effects Initiative .............................................. - 48 - 6.2 Condition Amendments ........................................................................................................................ - 49 - 7.0 CER Recommendations ....................................................................................................................... - 58 - 7.1 Responses from the Government of Canada to the CER Recommendations ....................................... - 58 - 7.2 Response Letter to NRCan from Alberta Associate Minister of Natural Gas and Electricity................. - 60 - - 3 - 8.0 Crown Consultation Team Assessment and Conclusions ..................................................................... - 67 - 9.0 Annexes and Engagement Summary and Analysis Documents ............................................................ - 69 - List of Figures and Tables Figure 1 (Page 7) Location of the Proposed NGTL 2021 System Expansion Project Table 1 (Page 10) Assessment of the NGTL 2021 System Expansion Project against the Principles included in the Interim Measures for Major Projects Table 2 (Page 14) Crown List for the NGTL 2021 System Expansion Project Table 3 (Page 19) Crown Consultation Phases for the NGTL 2021 System Expansion Project Table 4 (Page 22) NGTL Engagement with Indigenous Groups on the Proposed NGTL 2021 System Expansion Project Table 5 (Page 24) Allocation of Canada Energy Regulator Funding to Indigenous Groups - 4 - 1.0 Introduction and Overview Canada is committed to advancing reconciliation and renewing its relationship with Indigenous peoples to one based on a recognition of rights, respect, cooperation, and partnership. This commitment places an emphasis on ensuring that the Crown fulfills its duty to consult and, where appropriate, accommodates Indigenous peoples in a manner that is reasonable and meaningful. This includes fostering two-way dialogue in a manner that upholds the Honour of the Crown. With this commitment in mind, the Crown sought to work with potentially impacted Indigenous groups to better understand how Aboriginal and Treaty rights, whether asserted or established, could potentially be impacted by the proposed NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL) 2021 System Expansion Project (Project). For the Project, the Major Projects Management Office (MPMO) at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) served as Crown consultation coordinator and relied upon the Canada Energy Regulator (CER; formerly the National Energy Board or NEB) Hearing process, to the extent possible, to fulfil any duty to consult. Through supplementary consultations, the Crown consultation team sought to engage with Indigenous groups to understand the nature and seriousness of any potential outstanding impacts to Indigenous interests not otherwise addressed by Project conditions and proponent commitments. Further, the Crown consultation team sought to discuss with Indigenous groups how any outstanding impacts could reasonably be avoided, mitigated, or accommodated. Following this, NRCan provided an assessment as to whether the Crown’s duty to consult and accommodate, as appropriate, was met. Alberta did not participate in the supplementary consultations for this Project, instead relying on NRCan to properly resource and direct these consultations to meet legislated deadlines to ensure a timely decision. Canada also consults with Indigenous groups for many other reasons, including statutory, contractual, policy, and good governance, as well as, in order to build effective relationships with Indigenous peoples and work together toward reconciliation. Given the breadth of Canada’s objectives in consulting, the term “Indigenous interests” in this report includes asserted or established Aboriginal or Treaty Rights and title, as well as other interests. 1.1 Purpose of the Crown Consultation and Accommodation Report This Crown Consultation and Accommodation Report (CCAR), including the Indigenous group-specific annexes and engagement summary and analysis documents, describes the outcome