The BCER looks for opportunities to effectively engage with communities across the province of British Columbia to encourage the participation of Indigenous Nations and peoples in processes affecting them.
What is engagement?
Engagement is different than consultation. Engagement aims to build relationships with Indigenous Nations by exchanging information in the absence of legal consultation obligations. The purpose of engagement is to build trust and create meaningful relationships. This includes information sharing regarding regulations, policy, legislation and procedures.
What is consultation?
Consultation refers to the legal obligations of the Crown (Government) when Aboriginal interests (rights and title) may be adversely affected by a Crown decision. Consultation consists of information sharing between government and affected Indigenous Nations and seeks to resolve potential adverse impacts to Aboriginal interests.
Consultation Process
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Preparation
Application summary and initial impact assessment
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Initiation
Distribute application and initial impact assessment to Indigenous Nations for review and follow-up
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Discussion
Conversations regarding concerns, information requests, potential impacts, potential mitigation/accommodation, and issue retention
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Decision & Follow Up
Statutory Decision Maker reviews consultation record; where appropriate or requested, decision is shared with Indigenous Nations
What is the BCER’s Role?
Engagement and consultation are foundational to developing and maintaining positive working relationships with Indigenous Nations across B.C.
The province is home to many distinct Indigenous Nations communities and Indigenous cultures; therefore, consultation and engagement approaches must be consistent but flexible as all Indigenous Nations share an interest in the decision-making processes. The BCER is responsible for the Crown’s legal obligations to consult and accommodate Indigenous Nations within the regulatory scope. In doing so, multiple Indigenous Nations may be consulted in relation to an individual application with the level of consultation dependent on the particulars of each proposed activity.
What is the Proponent’s Role?
The BCER encourages proponents to engage with interested Indigenous communities early and often. Engagement by the proponent is designed to increase information sharing among all parties. It plays an important role in identification of Indigenous Nations’ interests and helps build relationships, establish effective mitigation measures, and facilitates economic development opportunities.
How do we respect Indigenous interests affected by oil and gas?
Indigenous Nations consultation and engagement happens continuously throughout the regulatory lifecycle.
Other
| Name | Date Published |
|---|---|
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Guidance for Pre-Engaging Indigenous Nations (v1.1)
Effective Date: Jun 6, 2025 - Please refer to the Table of Revisions within the document for a list of edits made. |
Jun 6, 2025 |
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Capacity Agreement Template
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Apr 8, 2021 |
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Natural Resource Aboriginal Liaison Program FAQs
|
May 4, 2019 |
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T8 measures ppt fin
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