Collaborative Agreement with LBNBefore we get all panicky about this Agreement between EAO and LBN, read the release carefully. It says in the third paragraph: "...EAO and LBN will work together on FUTURE environmental assessments for projects in the nations territories". Not "current and future". It would be downright devious, malicious and duplicit for the NDP to tie up BKM in this future process. I don't think the Courts would stand for it. The goalposts would not just have been moved, they would have been stuck in another field ten miles away! The concept of Administrative fairness would be anialated here.
The much more likely interpretation of this is that the provincial gov have been negotiating this for some time with LBN and this is the trade off for approval (at least a more cooperative spirit from LBN) for EAO approval of Booker. It's just smart politics if I read this right. It may mean no mines ever get approved down the road in LBN lands but it gets BKM approval (and hopefully cooperation from the band rather than protests and disputes over everything). I hope I have read this right. I am just speculating. Haven't spoken to a single soul about it and it's just my gut response given the circumstances surrounding BKM and their difficulty in getting their EAO permit.