My Online (Field) Placements with PILC and ANU

By Mackenzie Roop, 1st year MDP student

 The Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) specializes in assisting those who are too often pushed out of discussion around policy and quality legal representation. PILC offers advocacy for issues surrounding Indigenous peoples, human rights, the environment, and low-income persons. It is an honour and a privilege to work amongst such highly motivated and effective people.

The work that I’m doing is in response to a request by a First Nation organization to assess First Nations Entry into the Impact Assessment Act (IAA) established late 2019. I am reviewing the recommendations made by First Nations to the Expert Review Panel amending the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 2012, and how those recommendations transpired in the IAA. The hope is that this will more clearly illustrate the potential for meaningful First Nations participation in the environmental review process. The literature review highlighted key barriers to meaningful participation such as:

• The lack of Free, Prior, Informed Consent (FPIC) as outlined in UNDRIP;
• The avoidance of more rigorous and encompassing impact evaluations via cumulative assessments and traditional knowledges; and
• The high expense incurred to First Nations to independently support the Impact Assessment process.

Many First Nations iterate that meaningful participation in the energy sector is key to reconciling Crown-Indigenous relationships. 

I am very grateful to work under Dr. Trish Fitzpatrick, Joelle Pastora Sala and Byron Williams. I am also working alongside fellow MDP colleague Kate! We have weekly check-in meetings with our supervisor Dr. Fitzpatrick, sometimes via socially distanced outside meetings over coffee, but mostly over Zoom. Here is a screenshot from one of our many Zoom meetings:

Top L-R: Dr. Trish Fitzpatrick and Mackenzie Roop. Bottom L-R: Kate Robb and Byron Williams

I am simultaneously working for the Centrefor Aboriginal Economic Policy Research at the Australian National University (ANU) in support of the Grand Challenge Initiative pursuing “Zero Carbon Energy for the Asia Pacific” (ZCEAP). I am researching Canadian case studies of Indigenous-led renewable energy projects. This will hopefully further inform the comparative opportunities of First Nations in Australia. As a settler who is half Canadian and half Australian, I am really excited to be doing research from a cross-regional perspective. The MDP has taught me a lot about the true history and reality of Turtle Island, but I have far less knowledge and experience of the situation in Australia. Having this opportunity to connect and think about the parallels between these two colonized lands is really special. I am extremely grateful to Janet Hunt and Brad Riley for supporting my research and for the opportunity to work on such an amazing, forward looking project.

Working from Home

This is my humble workspace! After several zoom meetings interrupted by my attention-seeking cat, I decided to move to a space where I could close the door. The natural light helps me focus and keep positive.

I have found time management one of my main challenges under COVID-19. Because I normally like to leave the house to study or work, I find it difficult to stay in the same place for long periods of time. I have found myself switching up my work environment by working on the porch or at the dining table. I also make it a point of trying to go outside at least once a day, either by tending to my garden or going for a bike or run to the river. This helps me keep perspective on the greater world around me.

Working for PILC from Home

By Kate Robb, 1st year MDP student

My first field placement is with the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC), an independent office of Legal Aid Manitoba. PILC represents groups and individuals on a variety of issues affecting the environment, Indigenous peoples, human rights, and consumers. Although it was disappointing that I was unable to undertake my original field placement due to the pandemic, I was excited to have the opportunity to work with PILC this summer. I was already familiar with the work they do, as I took a course taught by two of the lawyers during my undergraduate degree, and assisted with an event they co-organized this past March.

The project I am working on for PILC is related to the Augmented Flow Program, which allows Manitoba Hydro to deviate from the operating conditions set out in the Interim License of the Churchill River Diversion. I have been reading a range of studies and reports and organizing and summarizing them in a way that will allow the PILC team to easily access the most relevant information when they need it. The impacts of the Augmented Flow program directly affect both the environment and First Nations communities in northern Manitoba, therefore I have been able to apply a lot of my learning from my undergraduate degree in environmental studies as well as my first year in the MDP program.

Team PILC-MDP Zoom meeting

Undertaking my field placement remotely has been an interesting experience. I've had to work on improving my time management skills in order to stay focused while working at home every day. We have been having Zoom meetings every Monday and Thursday to check in and update everyone on our progress, which has been a helpful way of staying accountable.

I'm looking forward to continuing my work on this project over the next several weeks! 

Work from home