Meet Our Speakers - Cynthia Westaway & Brett Campeau

NAME: Cynthia Westaway

TITLE : Senior Counsel, First Peoples Law

NAME: Brett Campeau

TITLE: Lawyer, First Peoples Law

Q: Tell us a little about yourself and how you got involved and interested in food law and food sustainability.

Brett Campeau: I come to the law from the natural sciences, having done a Master's degree in biology focusing on caribou ecology in the North. So naturally, I was always interested in environmental change in the North and how that impacts Indigenous communities. I always thought it was important to understand both the consequences of environmental change and how that has impacted First Nations as well as Inuit and Métis across the country.

Cynthia Westaway: I have practiced in the Indigenous area for a long time now. Not specifically food law but more as it relates to our practice across the country. I’m called to many bars across Canada, one of which is the bar of Nunavut, so I have always been very concerned when I visit fly-in communities in northern Saskatchewan, northern Manitoba, and my clients in Nunavut. I don’t know how they feed their families when you’ve got $12 for a small thing of juice for a child or cheese whiz for $25; it’s really difficult to get proper food. How are we able to ensure the health and wellness of communities that used to live on berries, roots, plants, and wild game when we’ve cut them off from those resources and those skills through settlement, mining and other interferences? That’s my big concern. How are we going to make sure that the next generation is much healthier than the generation now?

Q: What is a typical day for you in terms of how your work relates to food governance or food systems? What concerns may a typical client or case have as they relate to food governance or food systems?

Brett: I have a number of files that touch on food security primarily through the connection to environmental protection. We have some work for big tribal councils or regional political organizations here in Ontario and in the North, including projects relating to climate change impacts on food security in Ontario, and the connection between caribou management/conservation and food security among Indigenous peoples in the Northwest Territories. I also have a number of files that deal with natural resource development, forestry and mining, and those projects can have significant impacts on the environment and therefore on the rights of Indigenous peoples to practice their traditional activities on the land: to be able to harvest wild game, and fish and trap like they have done since time immemorial.

 Cynthia: I’ll give you a very simple example of one of our clients in northern Saskatchewan: a simple decision of a company to put a road in a certain place. In that situation, the location of the road robbed families of their trapline. Had the company consulted, had they been informed, then that road would have been elsewhere, and those families would have food.

Follow Up: Does that decision happen unilaterally?

Cynthia: Absolutely. Without any consultation and then it’s already too late. Once that road is there it disrupts all the patterns and the traplines that have been there for centuries.

Q: For groups that have had their traditional lands permanently affected by climate change, what are the remedies or avenues that they can take to try and find food security elsewhere?

Brett: We know that Indigenous peoples have dealt with environmental change countless times throughout the generations and that they have incredible resilience in the face of such change in drawing upon their local and traditional knowledge about the areas in which they live. I think a big part of the solution in dealing with environmental and food security challenges is working closely with those Indigenous peoples that are most impacted and trying to use and understand their knowledge to better adapt to those changes. I think it’s largely a matter of reinforcing the knowledge that is there and applying it to develop those solutions.

 Cynthia: And that requires respect for governance and respect for the leadership there that are making those decisions – not making decisions without consulting and actually following the lead of the traditional knowledge holders and the local Indigenous governments. They know far better than anybody in Queen’s Park or in Ottawa in terms of what needs to be done to manage the region in those areas.

Follow Up: Are governments acting without consulting most of the time and it is just near impossible or very difficult for people to come to an agreement after they have acted?

Cynthia: I would say so. Our Canadian government structures are not properly set up. I think it’s years of colonial thinking and approaches that make decisions first, and then afterwards consider who they should have consulted with prior to the decision. I think that the whole way of thinking has to shift to a real understanding that the way we have worked for the last 150 years is not working for the environment, it’s not working for climate change, and it’s not working for cross-cultural relationships. We require an absolute shift in the way we think about managing resources, managing areas, or managing people. It really needs to be a much more respectful environment focused on listening to Indigenous peoples.

Follow Up: Where does that shift start?

Brett: I think it has to be relationship-building across the board. We are involved in a lot of negotiations where we are bringing all of the interested parties, stakeholders and rights holders together to develop those solutions together. I think there is a step to be taken by the government: to come to the table and work as partners with First Nations, Inuit and Métis from the outset instead of coming to them after the fact to consult. I think it needs to be early and frequent engagement with the First Nations, Inuit and Métis as partners rather than consultation as a matter of course.

Cynthia: Governments have to decide that they are going to educate themselves and operate in a new way. Because they haven’t done that generally, the first step is unfortunately First Nations saying no. No, you’re not going to move into the Boreal Forest. No, you’re not going to touch our waters. It’s too bad that Canadians are not educating themselves according to what’s happening in their environment. They’re only reacting to the First Nations putting on the brakes and saying no.

Q: Is there another ongoing emerging issue within Food Law in Canada that you think isn’t getting enough attention as it deserves?

Brett: Related to climate change is the idea of wildlife conservation and establishing appropriate protected areas to manage key food species for Indigenous peoples and all Canadians. There is a move in that direction with Federal, Provincial and Territorial governments working more closely with Indigenous groups to establish Indigenous protected areas as a way to help Indigenous peoples lead conservation efforts for wildlife species on their traditional territories.

Cynthia: Economic development that can provide better and different foods. Resources that would provide greenhouses in the North for example. We have a client that participates in clam digging in Nunavut, but they don’t have the economic resources to create the canning facility that would move that initiative forward. We need a lot more federal and territorial support for innovations around different types of food sources so that the First Nations are able to participate more.

Q: Do you have any advice for students or lawyers trying to engage in this area of law?

Brett: Follow whatever you’re interested in. Market yourself appropriately and carve out a niche for yourself. If you are interested in working with Aboriginal law and Indigenous clients across Canada, then pursue a law firm that focuses on that work. There are a few different national practices, First Peoples Law is perhaps now the biggest one. It is important to find a law firm or an organization that aligns with your interests. In the area of law where you’re working primarily with First Nation clients, it is important to be flexible and willing to help out on all manner of things, like project management, to advance their interests.

Cynthia Westaway and Brett Campeau will be presenting on the “Keynote: State of Sustainability” panel on Saturday, November 5th, 2022