Transport committee  The process is in writing, but we have not been approached to ask whether we want to add any or whether we felt that the list that is currently on the two waters that are protected in the schedule is sufficient. We haven't been consulted.

Transport committee  No, even in our interactions with the federal government on changing any schedules to any acts that I'm aware of, I don't think there is a simple way, unless we were to reverse it and have a list of what is not protected. I think that makes more sense to us.

Transport committee  I think that the Nunatsiavut Government would like to see the schedule removed and have all waterways protected by default. If anything is not going to be protected, then there should be a good reason to not protect it.

Transport committee  I think that any consultation process needs to be developed with the groups that you want to consult. The consultation process that might work for the Navigation Protection Act, as it may become, might be different from CEAA consultation and different from the Fisheries Act authorization and consultation.

Transport committee  When aboriginal groups are at the table for the discussions where the decision is being made, and the experts are at the table together, it's a sharing of equals. I think there's much better input then than when the experts just send down a pro forma request saying that they're doing this and they want our reaction.

Transport committee  I think it's very important that—

Transport committee  In northern Labrador, where I live and the Nunatsiavut Government is, we have relatively little development going on in our traditional territory right now. However, there is a proposed mine, which is actually on the Quebec side of the Quebec-Labrador border, and it has been registered for environmental review in Nunavik but not in Newfoundland and Labrador or with CEAA.

Transport committee  From my knowledge, the Nunatsiavut Government has not been consulted on any proposed changes to the acts, although we are participating in the various environmental reviews. Our understanding is that, from these four reviews of environmental legislation, the ministers will be moving forward with legislative changes—or not moving forward with legislative changes—and that the ministers will consult on those changes once they have the advice from the various reviews.

Transport committee  My name is Andrea Hoyt. I'm the Environmental Assessment Manager with the Nunatsiavut Government.

Transport committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. The Nunatsiavut Government is an Inuit regional self-government established under the Labrador Inuit land claims agreement signed by Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Labrador Inuit Association in 2005. Although Nunatsiavut remains part of Newfoundland and Labrador, the government has authority over many central governance areas, including health, education, culture and language, justice, and community matters.