Natural Resources Canada: Impact and Benefit Agreements
In the coming decade, the Government of Canada anticipates that current and planned resource development projects across Canada will yield total investments estimated at $650 billion.

• Many of these projects will occur on or near the traditional territories of Aboriginal people
• Approximately 1,200 Aboriginal communities are located within a 200-kilometre radius of 180 producing mines and over 2,500 active exploration sites.

These resource development projects have the potential to create new social and economic development opportunities for Aboriginal communities. Securing the support from affected Aboriginal communities to proceed with planned developments, and fostering their meaningful participation in such projects, will be an important part of realizing these potential benefits.

Impact and benefit agreements (IBAs) have emerged as one mechanism to encourage Aboriginal participation in resource development projects. This paper briefly provides an overview of IBAs in Canada, describing their content and legal, regulatory and policy framework, and selected issues affecting the negotiation and implementation of IBAs.

IBAs are quickly becoming standard business practice among prospective developers. From an industry perspective, IBAs can provide certainty and support for development projects. From the perspective of many Aboriginal communities, IBAs can support local economic development opportunities as well as offer a greater role in environmental protection and resource development. Further, Aboriginal communities approach the negotiation of IBAs on the basis that they hold inherent rights in their traditional territories, and thus should share in employment and financial benefits from development projects on those lands.

Natural Resources Canada estimates that since 1974, a total of 335 IBAs have been signed for 198 mining projects. Of these IBAs, 265 remain active and cover various stages of project development, from exploration to reclamation (see Figure 1). Recent research from the Northern Development Ministers Forum indicates there has been a significant increase in the number of IBAs signed in the past two decades. Notably, the number of IBAs signed between 2001 and 2005 and between 2006 and 2010 grew from 23 to 102, representing a fourfold increase.
See below for details including interactive map.
https://lop.parl.ca/sites/PublicWebsite/default/en_CA/ResearchPublications/201529E