1.       Government of Alberta’s Proponent Guide to First Nations and Métis Settlement Consultation Procedures

(Alberta, The Government of Alberta’s Proponent Guide to First Nations and Métis Settlement Consultation Procedures (Alberta, The Government of Alberta, 2016) online: <https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/40499ce0-dd05-4e7a-b7f5-42a02e71b8ec/resource/c0adf205-ac7d-4901-b825-6f0dfaad6d9d/download/2016-proponent-guide-to-first-nations-and-metis-settlements-consultation-procedures-2016-06-06.pdf, [Alberta Proponent Guide]

The Alberta Proponent Guide provides detailed information to proponents engaged in consultation, including relevant timelines. Under the Alberta Proponent Guide, four different levels of consultation:

Level 1: no consultation required

Level 2A: streamlined consultation

a. Notified Indigenous groups have up to 15 working days to respond to notification
b. If there is no response within 5 days of initial notification, the proponent will follow up with the Indigenous group
c. If there is no response within 10 days, the proponent will follow up a second time
d. Once the 15-day notification has expired and there has been no response, the proponent will provide the Indigenous group with the consultation record and may ask the Indigenous Consultation Office to review it once the Indigenous group has had 5 days to review the record

Level 2B: standard consultation – notified Indigenous groups have up to 15 working days to respond to notification

a. Notified Indigenous groups have up to 15 working days to respond to notification
b. If there is no response within 5 days of initial notification, the proponent will follow up with the Indigenous group
c. If there is no response within 10 days, the proponent will follow up a second time
d. Once the 15-day notification has expired and there has been no response, the proponent will provide the Indigenous group with the consultation record and may ask the Indigenous Consultation Office to review it once the Indigenous group has had 5 days to review the record

Level 3: extensive consultation

a. Notified Indigenous groups have up to 20 working days to respond to notification
b. If there is no response within 10 days, the proponent will follow up with the Indigenous group
c. If there is no response within 15 days, the proponent will follow up a second time
d. If the 20-day notification period has expired without response, the proponent will provide the Indigenous group with the consultation record, and may ask the Indigenous Consultation Office to review it once the Indigenous group has had 10 days to review the record.

These timelines can be extended under the appropriate circumstances.

2.      Joint Operating Procedures for First Nations Consultation on Energy Resource Activities.

The Indigenous Consultation Office [ACO] and the Alberta Energy Regulator [AER] often deal with one another, and as such, they have agreed to a set of procedures contained in the Joint Operating Procedures for First Nations Consultation on Energy Resource Activities. (Alberta, Alberta Energy Regulator and the Government of Alberta, Joint Operating Procedures for First Nations Consultation on Energy Resource Activities (Alberta, Alberta Energy Regulator, 2015) online: <https://www.aer.ca/documents/actregs/JointOperatingProcedures.pdf> [Joint Operating Procedures].

Under the Joint Operating Procedures, a potential project falls into one of 4 processes, and depending on the application type, there is a standard requirement of consultation that must be met. The four levels of consultation (Level 1, Level 2A, Level 2B, and Level 3) correspond to those contained in the Alberta Proponent Guide, discussed above.