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Our Local Communities
ConocoPhillips Canada strives to create and maintain inclusive, honest and mutually beneficial relationships with our stakeholders. It is part of who we are. We seek to earn the trust and respect of our stakeholders and be recognized as the industry leader in stakeholder engagement performance. We continually try to improve our practices to meet that high standard and only our stakeholders can judge our performance in this regard. We listen to their feedback and look for ways to improve our engagement practice and performance.
Our operations touch communities from the East Coast to the Arctic and from northern British Columbia through Alberta to southeast Saskatchewan. Our operations are diverse, as are the needs, priorities and concerns of the communities, but there are some common themes including:
- Maintaining health and safety: Whether an employee or contractor working on our site, a family living near our site or a community sharing the roads with our vehicles and equipment, stakeholders expect ConocoPhillips Canada to put the health and safety of employees and their communities first.
- Protecting the environment: The land, air, water and wildlife are important for stakeholders across the areas in which we operate. Particularly for Aboriginal communities, a healthy environment is a critical component of sustaining their communities physically, culturally and spiritually. Stakeholders tell us they expect ConocoPhillips Canada to meet the highest standards of environmental stewardship.
- Benefiting from opportunities: Communities want to benefit from, and participate in, the business and activity that is happening around them. It is important they share in the employment, contracting and investment opportunities that help to build healthy, vibrant and sustainable communities.
- Participating: Communities want and expect industry to engage meaningfully and consult when an activity or project may affect their community. They want to be part of the process.
Information about the specific programs, plans and strategies we have for working with communities is detailed in the “Where We Work” sections of our website. While there are some common areas of interest for communities across the country, the specific priorities are different. We tailor our approach to best work with each of the communities in which we operate.
Aboriginal Peoples
Aboriginal peoples in Canada include the First Nations, Inuit and Métis who have occupied the land for thousands of years. In the areas in which we are active, including the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan as well as Newfoundland and Labrador, our activities often overlap with lands traditionally used by Aboriginal peoples.
The Canadian Constitution recognizes and affirms the existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of Aboriginal peoples in Canada. The Crown is obligated to consult with Aboriginal peoples in good faith. Before an oil and gas project can proceed on Crown land, the Crown must determine, through consultation, whether the project has the potential to impact existing Aboriginal and treaty rights. The Crown must also determine how to balance the broader societal benefits of the project, with the potential impacts to Aboriginal and treaty rights.
In practice, the Crown often delegates the duty to consult to industry. The balance and understanding of Aboriginal and treaty rights, and the Crown’s fiduciary obligations, continue to be tested and defined through court decisions. As these issues are debated and challenged in court, the role of industry continues to evolve and be redefined. Ongoing devolution, the gradual transfer of authority from the federal to Aboriginal governments and unsettled land claims add further complexity.
ConocoPhillips Canada respects the special connection between Aboriginal peoples and the land. We are committed to incorporating local, traditional ecological knowledge and land use information into the planning, design and construction of our facilities and related operations. Beyond the evolving regulatory requirements, we seek to consult meaningfully with Aboriginal peoples potentially impacted by our business. We also work with and support Aboriginal communities to ensure they have both the opportunity and the capacity to engage in meaningful consultation on our proposed projects and activities.
We recognize that Aboriginal peoples and communities are distinctive, with a history and culture that are very different from other Canadians. We are committed to having our employees complete a level of Aboriginal cultural awareness training consistent with their level of engagement with Aboriginal communities. In 2009, many members of our leadership team participated in Aboriginal awareness training to understand Aboriginal communities, their role in our business and the opportunities we have to work together going forward.
We are focused on increasing the participation of Aboriginal contractors and employees in our activities. Across our business areas, we work with communities to understand workforce and contracting capabilities and will often tailor programs to support education, training and capacity-building initiatives to increase connections with our business.
