2024-25 Reporting on the Calls for Justice 13.1 to 13.5: Calls for Extractive and Development Industries

In 2024-25, 11 subcommittee meetings, 3 Alberta Working Group meetings, 1 Wise Practices event and 3 Circle gatherings took place to support this work.

Throughout the fiscal year, representatives from the 129 potentially impacted communities from the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, as well as interested non-profit organizations have participated in IAMC-TMX SESC meetings, events or related gatherings, including:

• Simpcw First Nation
• Nooaitch First Nation
• Musqueam Nation
• BC Métis Federation
• Lac Ste. Anne Métis Community Association
• Montana First Nation
• Stoney Nakoda Nations
• Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation
• O'Chiese First Nation
• Horse Lake First Nation
• Ermineskin Cree Nation
• Tsuu'tina Nation
• East Prairie Métis Settlement
• Penelakut Tribe
• Tsartlip First Nation
• Tseycum First Nation
• National Family and Survivors Circle
• Justice For Girls

The Socio-Economic Subcommittee will continue to meet to discuss socioeconomic impacts and to ensure lessons learned from the TMX Project benefit other communities experiencing natural resource development in their territories. An example of this work will be the release of issues briefs to Indigenous communities, regulators and others wherein key considerations regarding socioeconomic effects assessment and monitoring, as identified by Indigenous communities through SESC engagements, have been identified.

The IAMC-TMX's Socio-Economic Subcomittee responds to Call for Justice 13.1 which assists government departments and agencies, and the project proponent (Trans Mountain Corporation), to better understand emergent issues related to the safety and security of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people during the construction of a major natural resource infrastructure project.

• Community capacity building:  Supporting strength building for Indigenous communities to identify and monitor socioeconomic effects related to natural resource development;
• Collaboration and cooperation: Collaborating with regulators, legislators, and federal partners to adjust regulations and ways of working with Indigenous peoples regarding the identification, prediction, mitigation, monitoring, follow-up and management of socioeconomic effects; and
• Safety and security: Addressing the safety and security of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people and improve their capacity to benefit from major resource project developments.

Budget 2024 committed $44 million over three years (2024-2027) to the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees for Energy Infrastructure Projects, of which the IAMC-TMX is one. Of that amount, $7.9 million in grants and contributions funding was allocated to the IAMC-TMX in 2024-25, with $537,258 of that directed specifically to the Socio-Economic Subcommittee.

In fiscal year 2024–25, guided by Elders from NRCan's Elders-in-Residence Program, NRCan continued to advance foundational work, including:

• Indigenous engagement and support: Led distinctions-based engagement to ground federal policy in lived experience and community-led good practices. NRCan has heard from Indigenous partners that we must work together to better understand the connection between human trafficking and resource development, and that there is a need to strengthen accountability and transparency, advance preventative measures, and develop safe reporting, monitoring, and response mechanisms. This collaborative work must be undertaken with Indigenous communities and nations, federal, provincial, territorial governments, regulators, and industry, and include guidance and support from grassroots Indigenous women, including matriarchs, elders, families, and survivors. NRCan's work has included: a site visit to Fox Lake Cree Nation to deepen our understanding of the historical impacts of hydroelectric projects in northern Manitoba; supporting the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committee for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project and Existing Pipeline (IAMC-TMX) in establishing a new Circle on MMIWG2S+ and Resource Development; engaging with Squamish Nation and Woodfibre LNG on community-led good practices; and, initiating collaborative discussions in BC with Women's Representatives of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs and BC Assembly of First Nations, Tears to Hope Society, the BC First Nations Justice Council and the First Nations LNG Alliance.
• Industry engagement: As part of NRCan's UNDA industry engagement strategy, initiated strategic dialogue with industry partners to strengthen safety and equitable benefits in resource development. Engagements at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition Conference and with the Mining Association of Canada focused on integrating Indigenous rights and gender safety into policy and practice and building a bridge between Indigenous and industry partners. These efforts reinforced NRCan's leadership in promoting systemic change across the sector.
• Strategic policy development: Developed an evolving strategy to guide future action on Calls for Justice 13.1–13.5 and UNDA SP 12 - identifying policy levers to improve safety, equity, and accountability in resource development, with emphasis on impact assessments, benefit agreements, and mechanisms for monitoring and response. Development will continue in 2025–26.

This initiative responds to Call for Justice 13.1 by advancing coordinated federal leadership to prevent and address the gendered and racialized harms associated with natural resource development. Through implementation of Calls for Justice 13.1 – 13.5 and UNDA SP 12, NRCan is working to increase the safety and equitable benefits for Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people at all stages of resource development, including planning, construction, and operation. NRCan supports partnerships with Indigenous communities to advance safety-focused tools and programming, while strengthening collaboration with regulators and industry to embed accountability, gender safety, and culturally appropriate measures into resource governance.

Indigenous families, survivors, and communities benefit from this initiative through the proactive integration of safety, cultural respect, and Indigenous leadership in the context of natural resource development. By building in prevention from the outset and supporting Indigenous-led solutions, the initiative contributes to safer environments for those most at risk and promotes structural reforms that reduce systemic violence tied to extractive and infrastructure projects.

• Increased safety and awareness: Supports the development of gender safety practices, prevention measures, and culturally grounded responses to violence, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking associated with resource development.
• Empowerment and inclusion: Empowers Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people to influence and benefit from resource development through leadership roles, economic participation, and involvement in policy and decision-making processes.
• Rights-based collaboration: Promotes the recognition and respect of Indigenous rights by fostering meaningful partnerships with Indigenous communities and organizations.
• Improved coordination across sectors: Works across federal departments, with Indigenous partners, and with industry to address systemic risks and improve accountability in the natural resource sector.
• Strengthened government response: Partnered with other federal departments to begin developing an Indigenous-specific Gender Based Analysis Plus tool. Contributed to Public Safety Canada's Anti-Trafficking Taskforce, Canada's appearance before the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Committee, responses to CEDAW's Concluding Observations, the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, and interdepartmental coordination through the Impact Assessment Agency's first MMIWG2S+ Sub-Working Group and the 3rd Annual Indigenous-Federal-Provincial-Territorial meeting on MMIWG2S+.
• Indigenous-led engagement: Supports distinctions-based and trauma-informed engagement processes that center the knowledge and experiences of Indigenous Peoples—particularly matriarchs, Elders, grassroots advocates, families, and survivors.
• Strategic policy development: Lays the groundwork for a long-term, evergreen policy and planning framework to address gendered impacts of resource development, including logic modelling and analysis aligned with UNDA and the Calls for Justice.

To date, no dedicated funding has been allocated for the MMIWG2S+ and resources development policy team's work. NRCan has continued to advance this work by leveraging internal resources, existing departmental programs, and previously established networks and reports.

In 2024-25, 11 subcommittee meetings, 3 Alberta Working Group meetings, 1 Wise Practices event and 3 Circle gatherings took place to support this work.

Throughout the fiscal year, representatives from the 129 potentially impacted communities from the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, as well as interested non-profit organizations have participated in IAMC-TMX SESC meetings, events or related gatherings, including:

• Simpcw First Nation
• Nooaitch First Nation
• Musqueam Nation
• BC Métis Federation
• Lac Ste. Anne Métis Community Association
• Montana First Nation
• Stoney Nakoda Nations
• Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation
• O'Chiese First Nation
• Horse Lake First Nation
• Ermineskin Cree Nation
• Tsuu'tina Nation
• East Prairie Métis Settlement
• Penelakut Tribe
• Tsartlip First Nation
• Tseycum First Nation
• National Family and Survivors Circle
• Justice For Girls

The Socio-Economic Subcommittee will continue to meet to discuss socioeconomic impacts and to ensure lessons learned from the TMX Project benefit other communities experiencing natural resource development in their territories. An example of this work will be the release of issues briefs to Indigenous communities, regulators and others wherein key considerations regarding socioeconomic effects assessment and monitoring, as identified by Indigenous communities through SESC engagements, have been identified.

The IAMC-TMX's Socio-Economic Subcommittee responds to part of Call for Justice 13.2 by addressing and developing a better understanding of Indigenous gender-based issues as they pertain to the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.

• Community capacity building:  Supporting strength building for Indigenous communities to identify and monitor socioeconomic effects related to natural resource development;
• Collaboration and cooperation: Collaborating with regulators, legislators, and federal partners to adjust regulations and ways of working with Indigenous peoples regarding the identification, prediction, mitigation, monitoring, follow-up and management of socioeconomic effects; and
• Safety and security: Addressing the safety and security of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people and improve their capacity to benefit from major resource project developments.

Budget 2024 committed $44 million over three years (2024-2027) to the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees for Energy Infrastructure Projects, of which the IAMC-TMX is one. Of that amount, $7.9 million in grants and contributions funding was allocated to the IAMC-TMX in 2024-25, with $537,258 of that directed specifically to the Socio-Economic Subcommittee.

In fiscal year 2024–25, guided by Elders from NRCan's Elders-in-Residence Program, NRCan continued to advance foundational work, including:

• Indigenous engagement and support: Led distinctions-based engagement to ground federal policy in lived experience and community-led good practices. NRCan has heard from Indigenous partners that we must work together to better understand the connection between human trafficking and resource development, and that there is a need to strengthen accountability and transparency, advance preventative measures, and develop safe reporting, monitoring, and response mechanisms. This collaborative work must be undertaken with Indigenous communities and nations, federal, provincial, territorial governments, regulators, and industry, and include guidance and support from grassroots Indigenous women, including matriarchs, elders, families, and survivors. NRCan's work has included: a site visit to Fox Lake Cree Nation to deepen our understanding of the historical impacts of hydroelectric projects in northern Manitoba; supporting the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committee for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project and Existing Pipeline (IAMC-TMX) in establishing a new Circle on MMIWG2S+ and Resource Development; engaging with Squamish Nation and Woodfibre LNG on community-led good practices; and, initiating collaborative discussions in BC with Women's Representatives of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs and BC Assembly of First Nations, Tears to Hope Society, the BC First Nations Justice Council and the First Nations LNG Alliance.
• Industry engagement: As part of NRCan's UNDA industry engagement strategy, initiated strategic dialogue with industry partners to strengthen safety and equitable benefits in resource development. Engagements at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition Conference and with the Mining Association of Canada focused on integrating Indigenous rights and gender safety into policy and practice and building a bridge between Indigenous and industry partners. These efforts reinforced NRCan's leadership in promoting systemic change across the sector.
• Strategic policy development: Developed an evolving strategy to guide future action on Calls for Justice 13.1–13.5 and UNDA SP 12 - identifying policy levers to improve safety, equity, and accountability in resource development, with emphasis on impact assessments, benefit agreements, and mechanisms for monitoring and response. Development will continue in 2025–26.

This initiative responds to Call for Justice 13.2 by supporting the empowerment of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people to equitably influence and benefit from natural resource development. NRCan's work to implement Calls for Justice 13.1-13.5 and UNDA SP 12 strengthens Indigenous women's participation across occupations, including leadership roles and throughout the resource development supply chain. NRCan identifies systemic barriers to economic inclusion and supports strategies to enhance access, equity, and participation. Engagements with Indigenous partners inform the development of gender-responsive, distinctions-based policies and promote inclusive governance structures in the natural resource sector.

Indigenous families, survivors, and communities impacted by the MMIWG2S+ crisis benefit from this work through increased access to economic opportunities that are grounded in self-determination and cultural safety. By advancing representation and leadership of Indigenous women and gender-diverse individuals, the initiative addresses the root causes of exclusion and vulnerability, enhancing safety and well-being in resource development contexts.

• Increased safety and awareness: Supports the development of gender safety practices, prevention measures, and culturally grounded responses to violence, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking associated with resource development.
• Empowerment and inclusion: Empowers Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people to influence and benefit from resource development through leadership roles, economic participation, and involvement in policy and decision-making processes.
• Rights-based collaboration: Promotes the recognition and respect of Indigenous rights by fostering meaningful partnerships with Indigenous communities and organizations.
• Improved coordination across sectors: Works across federal departments, with Indigenous partners, and with industry to address systemic risks and improve accountability in the natural resource sector.
• Strengthened government response: Partnered with other federal departments to begin developing an Indigenous-specific Gender Based Analysis Plus tool. Contributed to Public Safety Canada's Anti-Trafficking Taskforce, Canada's appearance before the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Committee, responses to CEDAW's Concluding Observations, the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, and interdepartmental coordination through the Impact Assessment Agency's first MMIWG2S+ Sub-Working Group and the 3rd Annual Indigenous-Federal-Provincial-Territorial meeting on MMIWG2S+.
• Indigenous-led engagement: Supports distinctions-based and trauma-informed engagement processes that center the knowledge and experiences of Indigenous Peoples—particularly matriarchs, Elders, grassroots advocates, families, and survivors.
• Strategic policy development: Lays the groundwork for a long-term, evergreen policy and planning framework to address gendered impacts of resource development, including logic modelling and analysis aligned with UNDA and the Calls for Justice.

To date, no dedicated funding has been allocated for the MMIWG2S+ and resources development policy team's work. NRCan has continued to advance this work by leveraging internal resources, existing departmental programs, and previously established networks and reports.

In 2024-25, 11 subcommittee meetings, 3 Alberta Working Group meetings, 1 Wise Practices event and 3 Circle gatherings took place to support this work.

Throughout the fiscal year, representatives from the 129 potentially impacted communities from the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, as well as interested non-profit organizations have participated in IAMC-TMX SESC meetings, events or related gatherings, including:

• Simpcw First Nation
• Nooaitch First Nation
• Musqueam Nation
• BC Métis Federation
• Lac Ste. Anne Métis Community Association
• Montana First Nation
• Stoney Nakoda Nations
• Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation
• O'Chiese First Nation
• Horse Lake First Nation
• Ermineskin Cree Nation
• Tsuu'tina Nation
• East Prairie Métis Settlement
• Penelakut Tribe
• Tsartlip First Nation
• Tseycum First Nation
• National Family and Survivors Circle
• Justice For Girls

The Socio-Economic Subcommittee will continue to meet to discuss socioeconomic impacts and to ensure lessons learned from the TMX Project benefit other communities experiencing natural resource development in their territories. An example of this work will be the release of issues briefs to Indigenous communities, regulators and others wherein key considerations regarding socioeconomic effects assessment and monitoring, as identified by Indigenous communities through SESC engagements, have been identified.

The IAMC-TMX's Socio-Economic Subcommitteeresponds to Call for Justice 13.3 as the subcommittee is comprised of representatives of relevant government departments and federal regulators, members from impacted Indigenous communities, and in some instances, other relevant parties including Trans Mountain Corporation representatives.

• Community capacity building:  Supporting strength building for Indigenous communities to identify and monitor socioeconomic effects related to natural resource development;
• Collaboration and cooperation: Collaborating with regulators, legislators, and federal partners to adjust regulations and ways of working with Indigenous peoples regarding the identification, prediction, mitigation, monitoring, follow-up and management of socioeconomic effects; and
• Safety and security: Addressing the safety and security of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people and improve their capacity to benefit from major resource project developments.

Budget 2024 committed $44 million over three years (2024-2027) to the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees for Energy Infrastructure Projects, of which the IAMC-TMX is one. Of that amount, $7.9 million in grants and contributions funding was allocated to the IAMC-TMX in 2024-25, with $537,258 of that directed specifically to the Socio-Economic Subcommittee.

In fiscal year 2024–25, guided by Elders from NRCan's Elders-in-Residence Program, NRCan continued to advance foundational work, including:

• Indigenous engagement and support: Led distinctions-based engagement to ground federal policy in lived experience and community-led good practices. NRCan has heard from Indigenous partners that we must work together to better understand the connection between human trafficking and resource development, and that there is a need to strengthen accountability and transparency, advance preventative measures, and develop safe reporting, monitoring, and response mechanisms. This collaborative work must be undertaken with Indigenous communities and nations, federal, provincial, territorial governments, regulators, and industry, and include guidance and support from grassroots Indigenous women, including matriarchs, elders, families, and survivors. NRCan's work has included: a site visit to Fox Lake Cree Nation to deepen our understanding of the historical impacts of hydroelectric projects in northern Manitoba; supporting the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committee for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project and Existing Pipeline (IAMC-TMX) in establishing a new Circle on MMIWG2S+ and Resource Development; engaging with Squamish Nation and Woodfibre LNG on community-led good practices; and, initiating collaborative discussions in BC with Women's Representatives of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs and BC Assembly of First Nations, Tears to Hope Society, the BC First Nations Justice Council and the First Nations LNG Alliance.
• Industry engagement: As part of NRCan's UNDA industry engagement strategy, initiated strategic dialogue with industry partners to strengthen safety and equitable benefits in resource development. Engagements at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition Conference and with the Mining Association of Canada focused on integrating Indigenous rights and gender safety into policy and practice and building a bridge between Indigenous and industry partners. These efforts reinforced NRCan's leadership in promoting systemic change across the sector.
• Strategic policy development: Developed an evolving strategy to guide future action on Calls for Justice 13.1–13.5 and UNDA SP 12 - identifying policy levers to improve safety, equity, and accountability in resource development, with emphasis on impact assessments, benefit agreements, and mechanisms for monitoring and response. Development will continue in 2025–26.

This initiative responds to Call for Justice 13.3 by advancing Indigenous Peoples' rights and self-determination in natural resource governance. NRCan's work to implement Calls for Justice 13.1-13.5 and UNDA SP 12 reinforces federal commitments to ensure Indigenous voices are included in decisions that impact their lands, communities, and wellbeing. NRCan strengthens distinctions-based engagement and aligns resource development practices with Canada's obligations under UNDA. It also supports mechanisms to promote transparent, accountable decision-making processes that reflect Indigenous values and priorities.

For Indigenous families, survivors, and communities, these efforts contribute to safety, equity, and trust in federal processes. Meaningful participation in decision-making empowers Indigenous communities to mitigate harms and shape development in ways that align with their cultural, social, and gender-specific priorities.

• Increased safety and awareness: Supports the development of gender safety practices, prevention measures, and culturally grounded responses to violence, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking associated with resource development.
• Empowerment and inclusion: Empowers Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people to influence and benefit from resource development through leadership roles, economic participation, and involvement in policy and decision-making processes.
• Rights-based collaboration: Promotes the recognition and respect of Indigenous rights by fostering meaningful partnerships with Indigenous communities and organizations.
• Improved coordination across sectors: Works across federal departments, with Indigenous partners, and with industry to address systemic risks and improve accountability in the natural resource sector.
• Strengthened government response Partnered with other federal departments to begin developing an Indigenous-specific Gender Based Analysis Plus tool. Contributed to Public Safety Canada's Anti-Trafficking Taskforce, Canada's appearance before the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Committee, responses to CEDAW's Concluding Observations, the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, and interdepartmental coordination through the Impact Assessment Agency's first MMIWG2S+ Sub-Working Group and the 3rd Annual Indigenous-Federal-Provincial-Territorial meeting on MMIWG2S+.
• Indigenous-led engagement: Supports distinctions-based and trauma-informed engagement processes that center the knowledge and experiences of Indigenous Peoples—particularly matriarchs, Elders, grassroots advocates, families, and survivors.
• Strategic policy development: Lays the groundwork for a long-term, evergreen policy and planning framework to address gendered impacts of resource development, including logic modelling and analysis aligned with UNDA and the Calls for Justice.

To date, no dedicated funding has been allocated for the MMIWG2S+ and resources development policy team's work. NRCan has continued to advance this work by leveraging internal resources, existing departmental programs, and previously established networks and reports.

In 2024-25, 11 subcommittee meetings, 3 Alberta Working Group meetings, 1 Wise Practices event and 3 Circle gatherings took place to support this work.

Throughout the fiscal year, representatives from the 129 potentially impacted communities from the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, as well as interested non-profit organizations have participated in IAMC-TMX SESC meetings, events or related gatherings, including:

• Simpcw First Nation
• Nooaitch First Nation
• Musqueam Nation
• BC Métis Federation
• Lac Ste. Anne Métis Community Association
• Montana First Nation
• Stoney Nakoda Nations
• Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation
• O'Chiese First Nation
• Horse Lake First Nation
• Ermineskin Cree Nation
• Tsuu'tina Nation
• East Prairie Métis Settlement
• Penelakut Tribe
• Tsartlip First Nation
• Tseycum First Nation
• National Family and Survivors Circle
• Justice For Girls

The Socio-Economic Subcommittee will continue to meet to discuss socioeconomic impacts and to ensure lessons learned from the TMX Project benefit other communities experiencing natural resource development in their territories. An example of this work will be the release of issues briefs to Indigenous communities, regulators and others wherein key considerations regarding socioeconomic effects assessment and monitoring, as identified by Indigenous communities through SESC engagements, have been identified.

The IAMC-TMX's Socio-Economic Subcommittee responds to Call for Justice 13.4 as the subcommittee has undertaken work (e.g. a research study in the North Thompson region of BC) to further understand the relationship between resource extraction impacts to the safety and security of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people, to inform itself and other interested government departments and impacted Indigenous communities.

• Community capacity building:  Supporting strength building for Indigenous communities to identify and monitor socioeconomic effects related to natural resource development;
• Collaboration and cooperation: Collaborating with regulators, legislators, and federal partners to adjust regulations and ways of working with Indigenous peoples regarding the identification, prediction, mitigation, monitoring, follow-up and management of socioeconomic effects; and
• Safety and security: Addressing the safety and security of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people and improve their capacity to benefit from major resource project developments.

Budget 2024 committed $44 million over three years (2024-2027) to the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees for Energy Infrastructure Projects, of which the IAMC-TMX is one. Of that amount, $7.9 million in grants and contributions funding was allocated to the IAMC-TMX in 2024-25, with $537,258 of that directed specifically to the Socio-Economic Subcommittee.

In fiscal year 2024–25, guided by Elders from NRCan's Elders-in-Residence Program, NRCan continued to advance foundational work, including:

• Indigenous engagement and support: Led distinctions-based engagement to ground federal policy in lived experience and community-led good practices. NRCan has heard from Indigenous partners that we must work together to better understand the connection between human trafficking and resource development, and that there is a need to strengthen accountability and transparency, advance preventative measures, and develop safe reporting, monitoring, and response mechanisms. This collaborative work must be undertaken with Indigenous communities and nations, federal, provincial, territorial governments, regulators, and industry, and include guidance and support from grassroots Indigenous women, including matriarchs, elders, families, and survivors. NRCan's work has included: a site visit to Fox Lake Cree Nation to deepen our understanding of the historical impacts of hydroelectric projects in northern Manitoba; supporting the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committee for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project and Existing Pipeline (IAMC-TMX) in establishing a new Circle on MMIWG2S+ and Resource Development; engaging with Squamish Nation and Woodfibre LNG on community-led good practices; and, initiating collaborative discussions in BC with Women's Representatives of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs and BC Assembly of First Nations, Tears to Hope Society, the BC First Nations Justice Council and the First Nations LNG Alliance.
• Industry engagement: As part of NRCan's UNDA industry engagement strategy, initiated strategic dialogue with industry partners to strengthen safety and equitable benefits in resource development. Engagements at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition Conference and with the Mining Association of Canada focused on integrating Indigenous rights and gender safety into policy and practice and building a bridge between Indigenous and industry partners. These efforts reinforced NRCan's leadership in promoting systemic change across the sector.
• Strategic policy development: Developed an evolving strategy to guide future action on Calls for Justice 13.1–13.5 and UNDA SP 12 - identifying policy levers to improve safety, equity, and accountability in resource development, with emphasis on impact assessments, benefit agreements, and mechanisms for monitoring and response. Development will continue in 2025–26.

This initiative responds to Call for Justice 13.4 by identifying and addressing the harms associated with natural resource development—particularly those that impact the safety of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people. NRCan's collaboration with Indigenous communities, industry, and other federal departments to develop tools and strategies that enhance gender safety and prevent violence.

Indigenous families, survivors, and communities benefit from a more responsive and preventative approach to the risks linked to large-scale industrial development. These activities acknowledge lived experiences and prioritize healing, accountability, and safety in and around resource projects and work camps.

• Increased safety and awareness: Supports the development of gender safety practices, prevention measures, and culturally grounded responses to violence, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking associated with resource development.
• Empowerment and inclusion: Empowers Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people to influence and benefit from resource development through leadership roles, economic participation, and involvement in policy and decision-making processes.
• Rights-based collaboration: Promotes the recognition and respect of Indigenous rights by fostering meaningful partnerships with Indigenous communities and organizations.
• Improved coordination across sectors: Works across federal departments, with Indigenous partners, and with industry to address systemic risks and improve accountability in the natural resource sector.
• Strengthened government response: Partnered with other federal departments to begin developing an Indigenous-specific Gender Based Analysis Plus tool. Contributed to Public Safety Canada's Anti-Trafficking Taskforce, Canada's appearance before the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Committee, responses to CEDAW's Concluding Observations, the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, and interdepartmental coordination through the Impact Assessment Agency's first MMIWG2S+ Sub-Working Group and the 3rd Annual Indigenous-Federal-Provincial-Territorial meeting on MMIWG2S+.
• Indigenous-led engagement: Supports distinctions-based and trauma-informed engagement processes that center the knowledge and experiences of Indigenous Peoples—particularly matriarchs, Elders, grassroots advocates, families, and survivors.
• Strategic policy development: Lays the groundwork for a long-term, evergreen policy and planning framework to address gendered impacts of resource development, including logic modelling and analysis aligned with UNDA and the Calls for Justice.

To date, no dedicated funding has been allocated for the MMIWG2S+ and resources development policy team's work. NRCan has continued to advance this work by leveraging internal resources, existing departmental programs, and previously established networks and reports.

While CHIF is not an industry-led initiative, it responds to part of Call for Justice 13.5 through investments in critical infrastructure that can including clean water and sanitation systems, and other social infrastructure. This investment mitigates the negative impacts of infrastructure deficiencies in Indigenous communities. Indigenous families, survivors, and communities benefit from this program through improvements to infrastructure that ensure safer and more sustainable living conditions as their communities face growth and development as a result of resource-extraction and development.

• Health and well-being: Investment in clean water and sanitation improves health outcomes in Indigenous communities.
• Resilience against industry impact: CHIF funding supports infrastructure expansion to accommodate population and economic growth.
• Sustainable infrastructure: Modernized water and waste systems create long-term environmental and health benefits.

The CHIF is a $6 billion federal investment designed to support housing-enabling infrastructure across Canada over a ten-year period from 2024/2025 to 2033/2034. The fund is structured to ensure long-term financial support for infrastructure projects that enhance housing supply and sustainability. The program prioritizes Indigenous-led projects and requires provinces to allocate at least 20% of their funding to Indigenous, rural, and northern communities. The funding is available to a range of eligible recipients, including Indigenous governing bodies, development corporations, non-profit organizations focused on Indigenous well-being, municipalities, and provincial and territorial governments. By mandating minimum targeted allocations in both streams, CHIF ensures that historically underserved communities receive the infrastructure investments needed to improve housing conditions and support long-term community stability.

Budget 2024 provided $241.7 million over three years, beginning in 2024-25 to build or renovate health facilities, including to support the Virtual Health Hub led by the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies.

On March 5, 2025, a groundbreaking ceremony took place, and construction began on the Mercury Care Home and Wellness Centre in Grassy Narrows First Nations. The approximately 6,500 square metre Mercury Care Home will provide modern, specialized care in a facility designed to incorporate culture and tradition into healing. Once complete, the home will offer primary and long-term care services for members of the community affected by mercury exposure.

A key feature of the 2024–25 work plan includes support for innovative, community-led models of care, such as the Virtual Health Hub in Saskatchewan, which combines cutting-edge virtual care technologies, AI, and robotic systems with local healthcare teams to help care for patients in a timely and cost-efficient manner, as well as concurrently increase the number of Indigenous and non-Indigenous healthcare professionals and technologists trained to work in virtual healthcare.

The initiative responds to part of Call for Justice 13.5 by ensuring that First Nations communities have the health infrastructure and capacity needed to meet the needs of the community, in areas in and around resource extraction projects. Infrastructure upgrades and new builds may facilitate services such as mental health care, emergency response, and monitoring services, particularly in regions where development pressures intersect with community health risks.

Indigenous families, survivors, and communities benefit from health infrastructure that enhances their ability to respond to health impacts tied to environmental and resource-related factors. Investments in infrastructure strengthen the capacity of Indigenous communities to protect and promote holistic health and wellness.

• Expands health access: Supports timely access to quality care through improved facilities.
• Community-led design: Aligns infrastructure development with Indigenous needs and values.
• Supports innovation: Includes investment in digital health services like the Virtual Health Hub.
• Enhances emergency readiness: Enables facilities to respond to crises and trauma-informed needs.
• Promotes cultural safety: Ensures spaces reflect Indigenous languages, customs, and healing practices.

Budget 2024 committed $241.7 million over three years (2024–25 to 2026–27) to build or renovate health facilities, including the Virtual Health Hub led by the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies, and the Weeneebayko  Area Health Authority Hospital complex, and the Mercury Health Care and Wellness Centre in Grassy Narrows. Funding is being used to support infrastructure priorities informed by a needs-based prioritization framework that identifies where the next investment may be required.

In 2024-25, 11 subcommittee meetings, 3 Alberta Working Group meetings, 1 Wise Practices event and 3 Circle gatherings took place to support this work.

Throughout the fiscal year, representatives from the 129 potentially impacted communities from the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, as well as interested non-profit organizations have participated in IAMC-TMX SESC meetings, events or related gatherings, including:

• Simpcw First Nation
• Nooaitch First Nation
• Musqueam Nation
• BC Métis Federation
• Lac Ste. Anne Métis Community Association
• Montana First Nation
• Stoney Nakoda Nations
• Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation
• O'Chiese First Nation
• Horse Lake First Nation
• Ermineskin Cree Nation
• Tsuu'tina Nation
• East Prairie Métis Settlement
• Penelakut Tribe
• Tsartlip First Nation
• Tseycum First Nation
• National Family and Survivors Circle
• Justice For Girls

The Socio-Economic Subcommittee will continue to meet to discuss socioeconomic impacts and to ensure lessons learned from the TMX Project benefit other communities experiencing natural resource development in their territories. An example of this work will be the release of issues briefs to Indigenous communities, regulators and others wherein key considerations regarding socioeconomic effects assessment and monitoring, as identified by Indigenous communities through SESC engagements, have been identified.

The IAMC-TMX's Socio-Economic Subcommittee responds to part of Call for Justice 13.5 as the subcommittee was formed, in part, as a response to concerns around the influx of non-local workers and temporary work camps related to the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, and the potential for increased demands on social infrastructure.

• Community capacity building:  Supporting strength building for Indigenous communities to identify and monitor socioeconomic effects related to natural resource development;
• Collaboration and cooperation: Collaborating with regulators, legislators, and federal partners to adjust regulations and ways of working with Indigenous peoples regarding the identification, prediction, mitigation, monitoring, follow-up and management of socioeconomic effects; and
• Safety and security: Addressing the safety and security of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people and improve their capacity to benefit from major resource project developments.

Budget 2024 committed $44 million over three years (2024-2027) to the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees for Energy Infrastructure Projects, of which the IAMC-TMX is one. Of that amount, $7.9 million in grants and contributions funding was allocated to the IAMC-TMX in 2024-25, with $537,258 of that directed specifically to the Socio-Economic Subcommittee.

The ICIF – First Nations on Reserves Component responds Call for Justice 13.5 by ensuring social infrastructure is in place to meet the needs of Indigenous communities impacted by development projects from the natural resources industry. It invests to alleviate pressures on housing, healthcare, and education in communities experiencing industry related growth and to ensure community-wide access to necessary social services and infrastructure. First Nation families, survivors, and communities benefit from this program as it works to ensure that essential infrastructure is in place to support community well-being and resilience in the face of development pressures.

The ICIF – First Nations On Reserves Component is a $2.83 billion fund over four years, starting in 2021-2022, with investments delivered through ISC's existing infrastructure programs. Funding is allocated to shovel-ready projects to ensure communities can respond to immediate infrastructure demands.

As of December 31, 2024, $46 million of ICIF First Nations On Reserves funding had been invested in fiscal year 2024-25, including $21.8 million to support education infrastructure, $16.1 million to support health infrastructure, and $8 million to support transfer of infrastructure service delivery initiatives.

The ICIF – Inuit Component responds to Call for Justice 13.5 by supporting Inuit governance over infrastructure development. The funding allows Inuit partners to establish specific strategies for managing infrastructure projects, including plans to mitigate pressures in communities affected by development projects and resource extraction. Inuit families, survivors, and communities benefit from this program by having control over infrastructure projects that align with their economic, social, and environmental priorities.

• Sustainable infrastructure planning: Invests to support infrastructure strategies that mitigate impacts of development and resource extraction, while supporting economic and social sustainability.
• Inuit governance in infrastructure: Strengthened decision-making authority in infrastructure development.
• Inuit-led and regional self-determined solutions: Provides distinctions-based funding to Inuit Treaty Organizations to self-determine community-specific priorities for housing and infrastructure. Ensures housing aligns with Inuit cultural, environmental, and geographic needs, including considerations for northern climates and community structures. Addresses regional infrastructure needs that are developed and managed by and for Inuit communities.
• Strengthened infrastructure for community support services: Extends funding to community centers and emergency shelters, providing critical support services for individuals facing housing insecurity or fleeing violence. Increases the availability of safe spaces for Inuit women and 2SLGBTQI+ individuals.
• Increased availability of safe and culturally appropriate housing: Supports the construction of new housing and repairs to existing homes in Inuit communities. Enhances safety through improved living conditions and infrastructure upgrades.

The ICIF – Inuit Component provides distinctions-based funding that allows Inuit Treaty Organizations and other Indigenous-led entities to allocate resources in response to community-identified priorities. As a result, the specific impacts and project details remain with the funding recipients, who determine how best to meet the infrastructure needs of their communities.

Funding has been allocated to support critical infrastructure projects, including shelters and homes for vulnerable populations, heritage centres, and community centres. Detailed examples are not provided in this report due to the autonomous and community-led nature of project implementation. This approach aligns with the principle of self-determination, ensuring that Inuit governance structures have full authority over decision-making processes.

Budget 2021 allocated $517.8 million for this initiative, enabling Inuit-led infrastructure development to address critical needs in Inuit communities. Funding is allocated regionally and split among Inuit Treaty Organizations based on a pre-determined funding formula approved by the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami Board of Directors.

The ICIF – Métis Component responds to Call for Justice 13.5 by funding projects that enhance community capacity, including housing, and public spaces. These investments work to mitigate the social infrastructure demands created by resource extraction projects and ensuring that Métis communities are not disproportionately affected by industry activities. Métis families, survivors, and communities benefit from this program through strengthened community infrastructure that both mitigates social and economic pressures related to resource extraction and promotes community well-being and economic resilience.

• Mitigation of social infrastructure pressures through development: Enhances public facilities, community gathering spaces, and recreational areas, and in doing so, expands access to essential community services.
• Sustainable growth: Addresses infrastructure gaps that result from industrial pressures and ensures infrastructure keeps pace with development activities.

The ICIF – Métis Component provides distinctions-based funding that allows Métis governments and the Métis Settlements General Council to allocate resources in response to community-identified priorities. As a result, the specific impacts and project details remain with the funding recipients, who determine how best to meet the infrastructure needs in their communities.

Funding has been allocated to support critical infrastructure projects and respond to the housing needs of the communities, with investments made in housing repairs and renovations, and improvements to community gathering spaces. Detailed examples are not provided in this report due to the autonomous and community-led nature of project implementation. This approach aligns with the principle of self-determination, providing Métis governance structures with authority over decision-making processes.

Budget 2021 allocated $200 million to five Métis governments and $40 million to the Métis Settlements General Council, prioritizing housing initiatives. Funding is administered with flexibility, to support Métis governments to tailor investments to their communities' specific housing needs, including those resulting from resource development projects.

The ICIF - Self-Governing and Modern Treaty First Nations component responds to Call for Justice 13.5 by investing in social infrastructure projects that mitigate the negative effects of development and resource extraction on First Nations communities. By providing First Nations partners with funds that are allocated on a self-determined basis, the ICIF ensures that investments are directed towards infrastructure that supports well-being, community cohesion, and sustainable growth. Families, survivors, and Self-Governing and Modern Treaty First Nations communities benefit from this program through strengthened community infrastructure that both mitigates social and economic pressures related to resource extraction and promotes community well-being and economic resilience.

• Mitigation of social infrastructure pressures through development: Enhances public facilities, community gathering spaces, and recreational areas, and in doing so, expands access to essential community services.
• Sustainable growth: Addresses infrastructure gaps that result from industrial pressures and ensures infrastructure keeps pace with development activities.

The ICIF - Self-Governing and Modern Treaty First Nations Component provides distinctions-based funding that allows to Self-Governing and Modern Treaty partners to allocate resources in response to community-identified priorities. As a result, the specific impacts and project details remain with the funding recipients, who determine how best to meet the infrastructure needs of their communities.

Funding recipients have undertaken community planning as well as community-based initiatives designed to serve the needs of the community members, including major home repair assistance programs and fuel subsidies for vulnerable seniors. Detailed examples are not provided in this report due to the autonomous and community-led nature of project implementation. This approach aligns with the principle of self-determination, ensuring that Self-Governing and Modern Treaty First Nations retain full authority over decision-making processes.

Budget 2021 allocated $107.3 million in the 2024-25 fiscal year to the ICIF - Self-Governing and Modern Treaty First Nations component. Funding is provided to Self-Governing and Modern Treaty partners and fiscal arrangements support self-determination in infrastructure development. Partners independently determine how best to use funds to addressing infrastructure needs related to the impacts of development projects and resource extraction.

The ICIF – Urban Component responds to Call for Justice 13.5 by investing in social infrastructure projects that help mitigate the pressures faced by communities hosting development projects and resource extraction activities. As large-scale economic development projects often lead to increased demands on social services, this funding ensures that Indigenous service providers can expand their facilities and programs to address housing, healthcare, and community support needs. Indigenous families, survivors, and urban Indigenous communities and groups benefit from this initiative through increased investment in critical infrastructure that alleviates social pressures and enhances service accessibility.

• Support for communities affected by resource extraction: Infrastructure investments help offset the impact of economic development projects on Indigenous populations.
• Increased capacity for social services: Organizations can expand housing, healthcare, and social programs to accommodate growing community needs.
  • Example: Funding was allocated to the Akausivik Inuit Family Health Team to increase the physical capacity and accessibility of the existing building. This investment responds to the growing demand for its services and programs, ensuring enhanced access to culturally appropriate healthcare and support for Inuit individuals and families.
• Culturally relevant infrastructure: Spaces are designed to reflect and support Indigenous cultural values and community well-being.
  • Example: Funding was allocated to Liard Aboriginal Women's Society's Tu Cho School of Dena Arts to support facility repairs and mold remediation, ensuring a safe and sustainable environment for its summer land-based cultural programming. This investment will enable the continuation of culturally rooted education and traditional knowledge-sharing for the community.

Budget 2021 allocated $194.9 million over three years (2022-25) to support Indigenous-led service organizations in urban and rural areas. Funded projects must demonstrate tangible benefits to Indigenous communities and align with program objectives.

In fiscal year 2024–25, guided by Elders from NRCan's Elders-in-Residence Program, NRCan continued to advance foundational work, including:

• Indigenous engagement and support: Led distinctions-based engagement to ground federal policy in lived experience and community-led good practices. NRCan has heard from Indigenous partners that we must work together to better understand the connection between human trafficking and resource development, and that there is a need to strengthen accountability and transparency, advance preventative measures, and develop safe reporting, monitoring, and response mechanisms. This collaborative work must be undertaken with Indigenous communities and nations, federal, provincial, territorial governments, regulators, and industry, and include guidance and support from grassroots Indigenous women, including matriarchs, elders, families, and survivors. NRCan's work has included: a site visit to Fox Lake Cree Nation to deepen our understanding of the historical impacts of hydroelectric projects in northern Manitoba; supporting the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committee for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project and Existing Pipeline (IAMC-TMX) in establishing a new Circle on MMIWG2S+ and Resource Development; engaging with Squamish Nation and Woodfibre LNG on community-led good practices; and, initiating collaborative discussions in BC with Women's Representatives of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs and BC Assembly of First Nations, Tears to Hope Society, the BC First Nations Justice Council and the First Nations LNG Alliance.
• Industry engagement: As part of NRCan's UNDA industry engagement strategy, initiated strategic dialogue with industry partners to strengthen safety and equitable benefits in resource development. Engagements at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition Conference and with the Mining Association of Canada focused on integrating Indigenous rights and gender safety into policy and practice and building a bridge between Indigenous and industry partners. These efforts reinforced NRCan's leadership in promoting systemic change across the sector.
• Strategic policy development: Developed an evolving strategy to guide future action on Calls for Justice 13.1–13.5 and UNDA SP 12 - identifying policy levers to improve safety, equity, and accountability in resource development, with emphasis on impact assessments, benefit agreements, and mechanisms for monitoring and response. Development will continue in 2025–26.

This initiative responds to Call for Justice 13.5 by ensuring that Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people are meaningfully engaged in shaping policies and strategies related to natural resource development.

For families, survivors, and Indigenous communities, this initiative creates space for their voices to be centered in federal decision-making. By supporting Indigenous-led safety initiatives and culturally grounded engagement, the initiative promotes healing, empowerment, and long-term structural change within the resource sector.

• Increased safety and awareness: Supports the development of gender safety practices, prevention measures, and culturally grounded responses to violence, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking associated with resource development.
• Empowerment and inclusion: Empowers Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people to influence and benefit from resource development through leadership roles, economic participation, and involvement in policy and decision-making processes.
• Rights-based collaboration: Promotes the recognition and respect of Indigenous rights by fostering meaningful partnerships with Indigenous communities and organizations.
• Improved coordination across sectors: Works across federal departments, with Indigenous partners, and with industry to address systemic risks and improve accountability in the natural resource sector.
• Strengthened government response: Partnered with other federal departments to begin developing an Indigenous-specific Gender Based Analysis Plus tool. Contributed to Public Safety Canada's Anti-Trafficking Taskforce, Canada's appearance before the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Committee, responses to CEDAW's Concluding Observations, the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, and interdepartmental coordination through the Impact Assessment Agency's first MMIWG2S+ Sub-Working Group and the 3rd Annual Indigenous-Federal-Provincial-Territorial meeting on MMIWG2S+.
• Indigenous-led engagement: Supports distinctions-based and trauma-informed engagement processes that center the knowledge and experiences of Indigenous Peoples—particularly matriarchs, Elders, grassroots advocates, families, and survivors.
• Strategic policy development: Lays the groundwork for a long-term, evergreen policy and planning framework to address gendered impacts of resource development, including logic modelling and analysis aligned with UNDA and the Calls for Justice.

To date, no dedicated funding has been allocated for the MMIWG2S+ and resources development policy team's work. NRCan has continued to advance this work by leveraging internal resources, existing departmental programs, and previously established networks and reports.