Notice of Confidential Indigenous Knowledge Received from the Métis Nation of Ontario (Region 3)

Under section 119 of the Impact Assessment Act, it is required that all Indigenous Knowledge provided in confidence to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) be kept confidential. The Act also requires that the Assessment report state how Indigenous Knowledge was taken into account. Thus, without revealing the sensitive details of the information, IAAC is providing a notice that confidential Indigenous Knowledge has been received, to attest to the full record of Indigenous Knowledge that will inform the report.

On June 27, 2024, IAAC received confidential Indigenous Knowledge from the Métis Nation of Ontario (Region 3) to inform the impact assessment of the Crawford Nickel Project. The assessment undertaken by IAAC will be fully informed by Indigenous Knowledge received. This includes the specific confidential Indigenous Knowledge provided by the Métis Nation of Ontario (Region 3) to which this notice pertains. It may be necessary for IAAC to refer to confidential Indigenous Knowledge in its report, if the specific details of that Indigenous Knowledge provide the foundation for analysis or conclusions. If this is required, IAAC will work with the Métis Nation of Ontario (Region 3) to ensure that such information is presented in a general fashion and will not disclose any sensitive details of the confidential Indigenous Knowledge. If IAAC does need to refer to this specific confidential Indigenous Knowledge in its report (for example if a specific conclusion relies on that evidence), a footnote or other notation will use the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry reference number of this notice, in order to document the source.

The Métis Nation of Ontario (Region 3) has also identified that information shared with IAAC will be continually updated throughout the assessment.

For more information on the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada's policy regarding confidential Indigenous Knowledge, see our Guidance: Protecting Confidential Indigenous Knowledge under the Impact Assessment Act.