Impact Management and Benefits Agreements (IMBA)

• A community presentation

• Impact Benefit Agreements are agreements between industry and First Nations, usually related to a proposed project that will use or impact First Nations lands and resources

• They are not to be confused with Accommodation Agreements that are the responsibility of the Crown

General

IBA’s or IMBA’s

• Early agreements were referred to as Impact Benefit Agreements because their content was usually limited to the identification of benefits – jobs, contracts, cash

• More recently, agreements have featured provisions where the First Nations can bind the proponent to impact mitigation measures over and above those which may be provided for by government regulators – IMBA’s

Kitselas Approach

• Kitselas describes the negotiations with proponents as IMBA’s so that we can ensure that a broader range of mitigation measures can be used to minimize impacts – e.g. managing access before, during and after construction; special measures for important cultural resources or food gathering areas.

Why IMBA’s?

• Companies have been negotiating IMBA’s in Canada since the mid – 1990’s

• Partly because of an increased awareness of their corporate social responsibility (CSR)

• Partly because, as Aboriginal jurisprudence develops, they realize the benefit of having FN support

• Partly because the Crown pressures them to negotiate IMBA’s so that they (the Crown) can “offload” part of their accommodation responsibilities on the private sector

• First IBA’s in Canada were negotiated in the NWT in 1998 around Canada’s first diamond mine (Ekati)

• Agreements were with Akaitcho Treaty 8, Dogrib, Metis and BHP Biliton as the proponent

• Negotiation pressure was applied by Canada - Cabinet

IMBA History

Other ExamplesMining:– Apple Bay – Quatsino – 2003– Syncrude Oil Sands – Attawapiskat – 2005– Snap Lake – Tklitcho - 2006– Diavik Diamonds – Metis Alliance – 2000– Eskay Creek - Tahltan – 2004– Voisey’s Bay – NL Inuit - 2004– Teck Elk Valley Coal – Ktunaxa – under negotiation

Examples (cont’d)

Energy:– Nakum Wind Farm – Haida – 2007– Kwagis Power – Namgis – 2006– Wa’as Power – Namgis – 2009– Swift Power – Kitselas – 2012– BC Hydro – various FN’s – NTL, Columbia River

system and Vancouver Island upgrades,

Examples (cont’d)

Transportation:– Fairview Port expansion – Tsimshian – 2011– Evergreen Line – Tsleil-Waututh – 2011– Port Mann Bridge – various FN’s – 2010– Sea to Sky highway – TWN/Squamish - 2009

Examples (cont’d)

Oil and gas:– PTP Benefits Agmnt – 16 FN’s – 2010– Northern Gateway – 26 FN’s so far signed on to

their equity offer

IMBA contents

• Early IBA’s generally featured five main envelopes:– Financial component– Business development - preferred opportunities for FN

business to provide goods and service to the project– Employment – targets for FN hires, employment incentives– Training– Certainty

IMBA contents (cont’d)

• More recent IMBA’s have become more flexible and inclusive in terms of topic areas and have included:– Environmental management and stewardship– Cultural resource management and protection– Specific socio-economic legacy projects

Financial elements

• Previous IMBA’s have included:– One lump sum payment upon project approval

commencement of construction or operation– Periodic payments tied to project milestones – EA

approval, FID, commencement of construction etc.

– Percentage of annual production revenues – Equity ownership in the project– A combination of the above

Business Opportunities

• The following mechanisms have been used in other IMBAs:– Direct awards– “carve outs” or “set asides”– Bid preferences– First Nation content– “favoured trading partner” relationship

Employment and Training

• IMBA examples include:• Training funds from the proponent, government

and others – PTPASEP• Training for a specific job category• Bursaries and scholarships for specific technical or

post secondary training• Specific employment targets – i.e.: a % of the

workforce or a target number of employees• Special considerations in the screening of

potential FN employees

Certainty

• Proponents seek an exchange of promises and commitments from FN’s in an IMBA (certainty):– Acknowledgement that the FN has been consulted

and all their interests have been addressed; and – Promise not to sue or interfere with the project or

its continuing operation– Releases for the proponent into the future

Environmental management

• Provisions relating to environmental management and stewardship are recent elements of IMBA’s. They may include:– Ongoing monitoring– Specific bilateral commitments between

proponent and FN for environmental protection– Reclamation and restoration

Cultural Resources

• As with environmental management, cultural management provisions are recent facets of IMBA’s. They may include:– Cultural management planning;– Archaeological provisions, including “chance find”– Commitments to use of FN language, names and

signage in the project– Cultural training for project employees and

contractors

Current status

Kitselas has framework agreements in place for the negotiation of the following IMBA’s:– PNWLNG – Prince Rupert facility– PRGT – pipeline feeding the PNWLNG facility– Coastal GasLink – pipeline feeding the Shell facility

in Kitimat– Northern Gateway - pipeline

Current status (cont’d)

Projects where IBA frameworks are under discussion or potential:– PNG Looping – pipeline to feed Douglas Channel

facility– Kitimat Clean – refinery proposal– BG Gas – Prince Rupert facility– Westcoast Connector – pipeline to feed BG facility– Shell – Kitimat facility– Nexen, Imperial, Woodside

Current status (cont’d)

• In addition to the potential IMBA’s with proponents, Kitselas has a negotiation framework agreement in place with BC to negotiate accommodation agreements respecting the known LNG facility and pipeline projects.

Q&A

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