The Right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent: Moving Towards its Implementation in Canada

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has established the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) as an international standard. This right is especially important regarding the use of Indigenous peoples’ lands and resources by the extractive industry. Currently there is no common understanding about how this standard should be applied in a Canadian context and the policy gap is a barrier to its implementation. This research will contribute to creating coherence between the way FPIC is conceptualized and the way it is experienced by Indigenous communities in Canada. It will also help KAIROS Canada to meet the goals of their Indigenous rights action plan which aims, in part, to raise awareness amongst non-Indigenous Canadians about land rights issues. The research will be used to create educational resources that Indigenous communities, corporations, governments and community groups can use when embarking on projects that may involve FPIC.

Faculty Supervisor:

Jean-Guy Goulet

Student:

Partner:

KAIROS Canada

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

University:

Saint Paul University

Program:

Accelerate