Cree Nation of Nemaska’s Community Dialogue and Planning Project

2019

Carolyn Burns, NetPositive; Jane Church, NetPositive

In recent years mining activities have increased near the Cree Nation of Nemaska, most notably the Nemaksa Lithium project. This presents an opportunity for the community of Nemaska to come together to share their views and concerns about natural resource development, to talk about the future of the community, and agree on how to move forward as a community. As a result, the Cree Nation of Nemaska has started a community dialogue and planning process with the support of NetPositive, an independent third-party organisation. This dialogue and planning process will lay the foundation for the community to see sustained positive outcomes from natural resource development in the area. The process will specifically provide: A forum for the community to discuss and articulate their vision for the future as it relates to natural resource development A process for stakeholder groups to build trust and communicate Recommendations for how the various stakeholder groups can more effectively manage the impacts and share the benefits of natural resource development The first phase of the Cree Nation of Nemaska’s Community Dialogue and Planning Project was launched in August of 2018 and will wrap up in Q2 2019. At CIM 2019, this session will include insights and lessons learned about the Cree Nation of Nemaska’s Community Dialogue and Planning Project from Deputy Chief Noreen Moar from the Cree Nation of Nemaska and Jane Church, Director of NetPositive. There is a great opportunity to replicate this dialogue and planning process in order to ensure that communities impacted by natural resource development see sustained positive outcomes. This session will help other stakeholders learn from the experience.

Keywords: sustained positive outcomes, Nemaska, NetPositive