Agency Environmental Workshops

In the early years of the Ekati mine operation, BHP Billiton (now Dominion Diamond Mines ULC, or Dominion) hosted well-attended annual workshops to review their environmental monitoring programs. They were a valuable way to review monitoring results, provide feedback, and recommend changes for the following year. It was also a unique opportunity for all stakeholders to interact and share information, as well as to question the technical consultants doing the monitoring work for BHP Billiton.

In November 2003, BHP Billiton decided to cancel these annual environmental workshops. It had heard from community members that the highly technical presentations and fast pace of the discussions made it difficult to translate. Internal budget constraints were also a factor. Aboriginal communities and the Agency offered suggestions on how to make the workshops more effective. Instead, BHP Billiton decided it would visit communities individually to present information and gather input. BHP Billiton also decided to conduct a workshop every three years, around the same time it is required under the Environmental Agreement (1997) to produce an Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

In 2004, the Agency wrote a letter to BHP Billiton expressing our concern about the company’s cancellation of its annual workshops. The Agency decided to host annual environmental workshops in those years that the company does not (while encouraging them to participate). The Agency has done so since 2004. In our environmental workshops, we present the previous year’s results of Dominion’s environmental monitoring programs in an easily understood format, as well as the Agency’s interpretation and recommendations.

Workshop Presentations

Other Workshops