The project team wish to acknowledge that the project is located on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee.
To acknowledge a traditional territory is to recognize its long history, one that predates establishment of European colonies. It is also to acknowledge a territory’s significance for the Indigenous Peoples who lived, and continue to live, upon it and whose practices and spiritual beliefs are intrinsically bound to these lands and waters.
The project team continues to have ongoing discussions with Indigenous communities throughout the project's lifecycle.
The Government of Canada engages and consults with Indigenous Peoples for many reasons, including: statutory and contractual; policy and good governance; and the common law duty to consult. The duty to consult is based on obligations of the Crown in relation to potential or established Aboriginal or treaty rights of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, recognized and affirmed in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
In partnership, Transport Canada and Parks Canada are leading the Indigenous engagement and consultation component of the project. Indigenous interests and rights are included in the Detailed Impact Assessment as Indigenous Peoples have inhabited KIH and the surrounding regions for thousands of years and a number of First Nations live in and near what is now known as Kingston.
Indigenous groups with a potential interest in the project have been identified by Transport Canada and Parks Canada. A total of thirteen (13) groups have been contacted:
Additionally, technical cultural heritage studies have been recommended by Ontario’s Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries (MHSTCI). As part of this work, Indigenous communities will be engaged as they may have knowledge that can contribute to the identification of cultural heritage resources and can identify which cultural heritage resources are of critical importance for them. As well, consultant archaeologists practicing in Ontario must engage Indigenous communities in certain stages of archaeological assessments.
The future detailed impact assessment (DIA) will incorporate information from the engagement and consultation process into the body of the DIA and will also include a concise summary of the process detailing all Indigenous engagement and consultation that was completed in relation to the proposed project including issues and concerns raised by Indigenous groups, project team responses, and resolutions. It will also include a description of how Indigenous engagement and consultation influenced parts of the DIA including the valued components considered, project alternatives, mitigation or monitoring approaches.
The project team has received and continues to receive feedback and information sharing from key stakeholders (City of Kingston, regulators, adjacent landowners/tenants, businesses that operate in KIH, community groups with a specific interest in KIH, etc.)
Opportunities for general public engagement will be provided as planning progresses throughout the project.
