On the issue of free, prior and informed consent, there is a tension between two ideas. First, there is a procedural version according to which the idea is not to obtain consent, but only to take steps that could lead to consent. It would be enough to do that. That's basically what the Canadian government has done so far. You do consultations and you make the decision at the end.
There is also the idea of more substantive consent, whereby the community must clearly give its consent. This can be done in a number of ways, including through a partnership between the community and the mining or gas company.
The most difficult part is really to determine who gives consent. In my research, I have seen that this is always the issue. In fact, it pertains to the legitimacy of governance structures. In Canada, aboriginal communities are increasingly giving themselves governance structures, but there are still many places where the situation is similar to that of the Wet'suwet'en and where the governance is that of the Indian Act and band councils. In my opinion, it's colonial governance, because it derives its legitimacy from the Indian Act and not from the people and the traditional governments still in place. It's a word—