Between 115 and 160 academics, health care professionals, community leaders and First Nations delegates attended a two-day forum discussing the cumulative impacts of natural resource development in the North.
The goal of the forum, held Friday and Saturday at UNBC, was to bring people with different specialties and experience together to discuss the impact of resource development in multiple sectors on the environment, public health and local communities. Bill McGill, head of the Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Institute at UNBC, said a public report summarizing the input from the forum sessions will be released.
"We had substantial, and very helpful, input from First Nations. It was was very helpful to hear the lived experiences of community members," McGill said. "They told us, 'this is the way things are for us.' It allowed us to challenge some of our thinking."
The forum was organized by UNBC's Health Research Institute, Community Development Institute and Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Institute, he said, with funding from the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission.
It featured presentations by a range of researchers across the three disciplines, as well as Fort St. John Mayor Lori Ackerman, Haisla First Nation Chief Ellis Ross, Fraser Basin Council regional manager Terry Robert, Northern Health CEO Cathy Ulrich and Allan Lidstone, director of the Resource Management Objectives Branch of the B.C. Ministry of Forest, Lands and Natural Resource Operations - along with others.
McGill said he hopes final report from the forum will be read and used by B.C. government officials, local governments, senior administrators from Northern Health and the general public.
"And I'd really like to see it get into the hands of [resource] industry executives," he added. "We have a variety of sectors and a variety of issues coming together. We must continue to work together. We've thought a lot about the future today. The future is what we invent."
Marleen Morris, associate director of UNBC's Community Development Institute and forum facilitator, said she heard from participants about the value of bringing together people from across the North and across the spectrum of experience and knowledge into one room to discuss the common issue of resource development.
"These are complex issues that need a comprehensive approach," Morris said. "It has been a day... that has engaged people thinking in their heads... and feeling in their hearts."
Some of the issues and ideas raised during the forum included:
That resource development projects do have an impact on public health, even if it's not always immediate or obvious.
Communities and First Nations do have a voice, and industry should be prepared to listen and not push for quick agreements.
That government must be engaged in the process and be kept aware of attitudes and opinions in communities.
There needs to be good-quality data and research on the resource sectors, and that data needs to be available to the public.
International trade has an impact on how resources are developed in Canada.
Other countries, like Norway, have been successful in developing their natural resources while getting greater royalties and rents from industry. In Norway, those royalties have been used to create a heritage fund which will benefit current and future generations.
