The Marten Falls First Nation Community Access Road (Community Access Road) needs to meet both provincial and federal requirements prior to obtaining approval to build the road. The Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement was prepared to meet the intent of both the federal Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines and the provincial Terms of Reference.

The Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement documents the evaluation of alternative route considered for the Community Access Road and presents the Preferred Route. It also documents the environmental impacts, including potential effects, proposed mitigation measures and potential cumulative effects, and documents engagement and consultation undertaken so far.

The Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement is a large document (approximately 500 - 1000 pages) which includes thousands of pages of supporting documents. These range from Technical Supporting Documents for each valued component (see the full list below), to the Records of Consultation & Engagement for Interested Persons. The Technical Supporting Documents provide an in-depth analysis of each of the valued components—which have been grouped into the water, land and people—so they could be studied further. The technical documents include information on the current state of the environment, what effects the project may have, and how we can reduce any negative effects while maximizing positive outcomes. These documents also consider how the project might overlap with other projects in the area to create bigger and / or additional effects (i.e., cumulative effects).

The following Technical Supporting Documents are included in the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement.

Land:

• Vegetation
• Wildlife
• Birds
• Ungulates (moose and caribou)
• Physiography, Terrain, and Soils

Water:

• Surface Water
• Fish and Fish Habitat
• Groundwater and Geochemistry
• Peatlands

People:

• Acoustic and Vibration Environment
• Cultural heritage (including Archaeology)
• Atmospheric and Greenhouse Gas
• Climate Change
• Land and Resource Use
• Visual Environment
• Community Well-Being (economic, human health and community safety and social)

• The community-specific Aboriginal and / or Treaty Rights and Interest assessment results are not included in the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement report. Individual reports will instead be provided to each Indigenous community as a separate technical document in the coming months. This phased approach will allow Indigenous communities time to review the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement, which will further support a future review of their community-specific Aboriginal and / or Treaty Rights and Interest assessment.
• The Draft Record of Consultation and Engagement with Indigenous Communities will be available in the summer and in advance of the Final Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement. Indigenous communities that we are engaging with will have the opportunity to review and comment on the report prior to the release of the Final Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement.
• The Final Record of Consultation and Engagement including Governments and Agencies will be included in the Final Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement.

We are providing a Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement to Indigenous communities, the public and regulators to allow for an early review of our information, approach and findings. Your input on the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement will allow another opportunity for your voice to be heard. Your comments on the Draft will inform the preparation of the Final Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement and allow us to incorporate your input and consider concerns related to the proposed Community Access Road.

Because the Final Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement will be submitted by Marten Falls First Nation to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada for a decision by the Minister and Cabinet, it is important that communities participate in consultation on the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement, so that their input can be considered or addressed in the final version.

Members of the Indigenous communities we are engaging with have early access to the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement via their community’s key contact (identified by your Chief and Council). Indigenous communities have 120 days to review and comment on the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement. Access to the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement for Indigenous communities is 60-days in advance of the public and regulators’ review period.

Each of the documents released after the official release date of February 18, 2025, will include an extended review period based on the date of release to Indigenous communities.

We want to ensure your community has easy access to the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement. It will be made available early to Indigenous communities through their community’s identified key contact(s). The Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement will be available online to view and download from the Community Access Road website. USBs will also be distributed to Indigenous communities, along with plain-language summaries of the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement and the Technical Documents. A physical (paper) copy can also be provided on request.

Following the 60-day advanced Indigenous community early review period, the documents will be made available to the public on the website to view and download and at select locations like libraries and community centres for an additional 60 days. In person viewing locations will be announced at a later date.

As a community key contact, you will be able to support your community’s review of the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement by making it readily available for view and comment. Here are a few tactics for consideration:

• Make the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement and Plain Language Summaries available to view at an easily accessible location in the community (e.g. the Band Office, Library / Community Centre / School);
• Host meetings to discuss topics of interest for the Community, gather feedback and questions to share with the Community Access Road Project Team;
• Request a meeting with the Community Access Road Project Team to review and discuss areas of the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement that are interest to the community; and
• Invite Community members to attend the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement webinar hosted by the Community Access Road Project Team to review the process and ask questions. The webinar date will be scheduled soon.

Comments and questions received during the review process will be recorded and responses tracked and addressed, where possible, in the Final Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement. In addition, during the review period, we encourage you to contact us to schedule a meeting to discuss questions or concerns you might have. Our intent, where appropriate, is to provide you an opportunity to review or discuss your comments and our proposed response in advance of submitting the Final Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement.

Once the key contact has compiled your community’s feedback, the comments / edits / questions can be sent to the Community Access Road Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement email address: eaisinput@martenfallsaccessroad.ca

Individual members of an Indigenous community are welcome to provide their own comments in addition to those provided on behalf of their community during the public review period. This input will be addressed along with other comments received from the public and regulators.

The Final Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement will incorporate comments, questions and feedback received on the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement from Indigenous communities, the public and regulators. Additional information from studies not completed before the release of the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement may also be included (if applicable). Because the Final Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement will be submitted by Marten Falls First Nation to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada for a decision by the Minister and Cabinet, it is important that communities participate in consultation on the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement, so that their input can be considered or addressed in the final version.

The Marten Falls First Nation Community Access Road Project Team has engaged 22 Indigenous communities over the course of the environmental assessment process, working with key contacts and representatives of the communities who have provided their expertise, asked questions, and flagged concerns and issues that should be addressed and included in the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement.

Through consultation and engagement activities, the Marten Falls First Nation Community Access Road Project Team has collected feedback, information and Indigenous Knowledge to inform the Preferred Route selection and support the development of the Draft Environmental Assessment / Impact Statement. The sharing of Indigenous Knowledge has been facilitated by the Individual Community Aboriginal and / or Treaty Rights and Interest Existing Conditions Reports as well as a series of Forums that have provided an opportunity for open discussion around the proposed Community Access Road.

Indigenous Knowledge Program

The purpose of this program is to empower Indigenous communities to share information on their land and resource use, cultural practices and values, and rights and interests in the study area. Participation in the program enabled participating communities to either share existing Indigenous Knowledge and Indigenous Land and Resource Use information (previously collected by communities) or to complete project-specific Indigenous Knowledge and Indigenous Land and Resource Use Studies.

The Program continues. If your community has Indigenous Knowledge or information on Indigenous Land and Resource Use related to the Community Access Road Project that they would like to share please do not hesitate to reach out to Bob Baxter at 1-807-628-7553 or bbaxter48@gmail.com or Andrea Nokleby at 1-604-417-5332 or anokleby@dillon.ca.

Reports

Through the Environmental Assessment / Impact Assessment process, the Marten Falls First Nation Community Access Road Project Team has worked with Indigenous communities to produce reports including: Aboriginal and / or Treaty Rights and Interest Existing Conditions Report, Milestone #1 and #2 Progress Reports, Cultural Heritage Report, Stage 1 and Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment Reports, and the Interim Record of Consultation and Engagement.

In-person & virtual consultation activities

To date, our consultation efforts have included:

• Five in-person Public Information Centres, including dedicated hours for Indigenous Community members;
• Over 30 in-person or virtual meetings with 11 communities, including 11 in-person or virtual meetings with Marten Falls First Nation;
• Two in-person Aboriginal and / or Treaty Rights and Interest forums;
• Two in-person Three-road Project Gathering & Expo;
• ·Attendance at several conferences, including the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada conference and the Matawa First Nations Management gathering.
• Fifteen virtual webinars; and
• Ongoing outreach including phone calls, emails, virtual meetings and in-person meetings with communities and tribal councils.