In April Michael was invited by the University of Aix-Marseille to give public presentations in Marseille and Aix-en Provence, France on the accountability of resource companies to Indigenous peoples. Focussing on the record in Canada beginning with Inco’s damage to to the land around Sudbury, to present day projects, he outlined how the law and corporate commitments could be improved to protect Indigenous peoples. General laws to protect the environment are good and need to be strengthened, but direct partnerships with Indigenous communities through negotiated agreements are also essential. Those agreements respect the reality of Indigenous self-determination and they can reflect and empower the community’s deep relationships with their territory. They also can spell out the ongoing engagement of the community in monitoring and limiting impacts on the environment and the community’s remedies against companies and governments in case commitments to protect the environment are breached.
