On May 3, 2018, the Province of Ontario announced that it had signed resource revenue sharing (RRS) agreements with 32 participating First Nations communities. Under these agreements, the Province will share a defined portion of the tax collected from existing and future mining and forestry operations.

The agreements in Ontario highlight the fact that RRS is an evolving part of the Canadian natural resource landscape. Governments have, in some instances reluctantly, come to appreciate its relevance and presence in the sector. Companies, for the most part, are eager for the higher level of certainty that comes from formal Crown agreements with Indigenous communities and the clarification of financial arrangements. RRS can work to ensure Indigenous communities receive community benefits from development on their traditional territories, providing own source revenue that may in turn be used to support important community objectives.

This 90 minute webinar will explore RRS though the perspectives and interests of industry and Indigenous organizations. It will review the recently concluded agreements in Ontario, what they encompass and what remains to be done, in addition to situating them within the broader Canadian context surrounding RRS.

Please join Jason Gauthier, Chief of Missanabie Cree First Nation; Stephen Crozier, Vice-President, Corporate Affairs of IAMGold; and Dr. Ken Coates, Canada Research Chair on Regional Innovation at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan, as they address the following questions:

• What is the stated purpose of Ontario’s RRS program and how is it intended to work?
• From the perspective of industry, how will these RRS agreements impact mining activity in the Province (both in terms of existing operations and future development)? Are there any issues which ought to be considered in the next round of discussions that might improve system performance?
• In a practical sense, what kinds of financial returns for Indigenous communities are generally associated with RRS?
• There are other options being explored by Indigenous communities, governments and the private sector, including equity investments by Indigenous partners. What are the relative merits of equity involvement compared to RRS?

About Jason

Jason Gauthier was elected to Council of Missanabie Cree First Nation in August of 2010, and held the whole earth portfolio (Lands and Resources) and went on to be elected as the Chief of Missanabie Cree First Nation in 2013 and Re-elected in 2016. Chief Gauthier graduated from the Sociology Program at Algoma University in 2009 with Honours. Chief Gauthier has continued to create many new partnerships and relationships in his terms as Chief. Chief Gauthier's vision of a balance between economic sustainability and community wellbeing is shared by communities across Canada. On the cutting edge of such projects as Resource Revenue Sharing and First Nation led Passenger Rail service, Chief Gauthier believes that the First Nation communities have to reach out and grasp opportunities to better the lives of our people.

About Ken

Dr. Ken Coates is Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan campus and Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. Ken was raised in Whitehorse, Yukon, and has long-standing professional and personal interests in Aboriginal rights, northern development, northern Canadian history, science, technology and society, and Japan Studies.

Ken has written extensively on Aboriginal history, Indigenous-newcomer relations and post-secondary education. He recently co-authored a book called From Treaty Peoples to Treaty Nation: A Road Map for All Canadians.

About Stephen

Stephen Crozier is Vice President, Corporate Affairs at IAMGOLD Corporation. Reporting to the Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs, HSS & People, Stephen has responsibility for the corporate sustainability program at IAMGOLD. Since 2012, he has jointly led discussions with Indigenous communities that are potentially impacted by the Cote Gold Project. Inspired by those engagements, Stephen became involved over the past several years in the development of policy proposals on resource revenue sharing and collaborative design within the Province of Ontario.