4. SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT

This section of the SEPA addresses the positive and negative impactsImpacts: the effect or impression of one thing on another such as the impact of a mining project on the life of an Aboriginal community. that the mining project may have on the Aboriginal community and its culture. A Committee for Community Support may be set up to deal with these impacts. Other community services concerned with communication and environmental protection may also be set up.

Communication and Consultation

Most SEPAs emphasize how the Aboriginal community must be consulted and informed about the mining project. This is so problems can be caught and resolved before they become too grave. The publication of a newsletter is often an important part of this communication.

De Beers Snap Lake Mine (see *Case Study #1: NWT Diamond Mines, p. Intro-10) produces a quarterly newsletter called Snap Shot. Its purpose is to provide information on the development and operation of the diamond mine at Snap Lake.

Social and Community Assistance Counselling

Counselling and information programs may be set up to help deal with problems that the mining project causes or makes worse. Examples are family and marital problems, stress and anxiety, and alcohol and drug abuse.

Community Projects and Physical Infrastructure

In this subsection the mining company would commit to assist financially or in some other way the construction of community infrastructure. This might include a meeting hall, recreation facilities, or some other improvement to the community’s quality of life.

Aboriginal Cultural and Economic Activities

This subsection details how the mining company will try to reduce the mine’s impact on the community’s lifestyle, culture, and traditional activities.

Several provisions of the Voisey’s Bay SEPA address the impact that the mine may have on the traditional ways of life of the Inuit and Innu. (See *Case Study #4, p. Intro-39.) Mine employees are strictly prohibited from hunting, fishing, or harvesting of any kind in the project area to ensure natural resources come under no additional pressure.

Winter shipping was the biggest concern, however. The ice is a highway for Inuit and Innu who harvest from the ice and travel by snowmobile during the winter. Many local people have cabins and traditional hunting areas on the south side of the ice breaker track. Sometimes the ship’s track takes a very long time to re-freeze.

The two parties set up a small group to consider this issue, which was so important to both of them. It took the group a number of years to work out a solution. Finally, the Inuit and Inco designed and had constructed a large pontoon that can be deployed immediately after a ship has passed. This reduces to a matter of hours the time it takes to travel to the other side of the ship’s track, which otherwise can take days.

Monitoring of Social Impacts

This subsection stipulates how social impacts will be monitored and reported throughout the life of the mine.