The Referrals Department at Nanwakolas Council has been providing an invaluable service for nearly 20 years to the member First Nations—one that also creates good relationships with business and helps support economic certainty.
“Twenty years ago when we first started doing this, there was an old guard of business and industry that didn’t understand the need to work with First Nations,” says Art Wilson, Nanwakolas Council’s Referrals Department Manager. “They thought they could just go ahead and do whatever they wanted. They found out the hard way that they couldn’t when First Nations said no, you can’t. It cost them time and money they didn’t need to spend, just because they didn’t want to respect our rights. It’s much better these days—people want to work with us, and everyone benefits as a result.”
Business, but not as usual
The Nanwakolas Referrals Department, which was established in 2007, supports the Nanwakolas member First Nations in reviewing applications for provincial tenures and permits in their traditional territories that have been referred to them by the government.
That covers resource developments like logging, hydro-electric projects, commercial tourism, and mining as well as smaller business activities. Before issuing a tenure or permit for the activity, the provincial government must consult with First Nations on the impacts of the proposed activity and seek a formal response.
First Nations receive hundreds of referrals every year, and responding to them all can be a huge administrative burden to busy Nations already running their own businesses as well as administering their Nation’s operations and communities. In the past, that sometimes meant either just saying no to everything or not responding at all. The result: the provincial government would typically just make a decision based on “business as usual” and approve the activity regardless of the impact on the First Nation.
That’s where the Referrals Department now comes in: it’s still business, but no longer as usual.
A thorough and supportive process
Under an agreement between Nanwakolas Council, the provincial government and the member First Nations, all referrals are now sent to the Nanwakolas Referrals Department for processing. A team of seven technicians and analysts notifies the affected First Nations as soon as a referral is received and enters the information into a database, assesses the likely impact of the proposed activity, undertakes research, and prepares reports for the First Nations. It’s a well-oiled machine in operation: the team has never failed to honour its commitment from the beginning to have all referrals files set up and confirmed within 48 hours of receiving them. That’s despite the fact that the numbers of referrals have grown from just a few hundred each year at the beginning to nearly 4,000 in 2025.
That’s just the beginning, adds Art. “Our referrals officers are experts in lands and forestry issues as well as marine interests. They will go to meet with the First Nations to see what concerns they have with the referral and find out if further research is required. The referrals officers will also help set up meetings with the applicant or with the provincial government, if that’s what the First Nation feels is necessary, and facilitate discussions around impacts and actions that could be taken to mitigate or avoid those impacts.”
The Referrals Office also prepares response letters for the First Nation to send back to the government once the Nation has decided what it wants to do. “It’s their rights that are being affected, so they have to make the decision and send the response. We can’t do that; we’re just doing the legwork for the First Nation, or the ground work, if you will,” explains Art. “All of this, by the way, is done at no cost to the Nations. It is a completely free service.”
Putting data and technology to work
The benefits to the member First Nations of using a central clearinghouse for administering referrals have been wide-ranging. “Technology is one aspect of that,” observes Nanwakolas GIS analyst Johnny Nelson. “The computers and software required to manage the system are expensive and very complex. Because we’re centralized, this is very cost-effective and efficient way to manage all the information on behalf of the First Nations.”
The team is always looking for ways to improve its service, observes Art. “For example, we are currently updating our internal process, streamlining reports and data available to the Nations. We have recently upgraded our ArcGIS architecture to Arc Enterprise, including adding an additional server. Additionally, we are adding landPLANNER to help facilitate unified data collection by other Nanwakolas teams, like the Lands Department, and referral data submissions. LandPLANNER will also interact with the Nation’s Guardians out in the field, allowing their data to be directly inputted into our Enterprise Database Server. That will provide the collected Guardian data to the Nations’ own Referrals Officers to assist their leadership in making informed decisions regarding applications.”
It all sounds highly technical, but in practice, the results speak for themselves: fast, comprehensive, secure information being collected and assessed to support the Nations in consistent and effective responses to referrals.
The amount of information in the database after twenty years is also extensive. After two decades in business, says Johnny, the Referrals team have also gained a great deal of experience which they are putting it into practice on a daily basis. “The workload is much bigger now than in 2007, but we’ve really streamlined the process. We also know the history. We know when the First Nation has said yes or no before on a similar application, so consistency of response is better than it used to be, and we know where the really sensitive areas are now so can act faster to help the First Nation protect them. That’s immensely beneficial for the Nations.”
And now there are Guardians, too
“We are adding even more data now to the data base through the work of the Guardians,” says Art. All of the member First Nations have established Guardian programs in the last decade. “Now their Guardians are out on the ground, constantly gathering more data that we can use to support their Nations making decisions on referrals. If they decide they need more information to make a decision, the Guardians can also go out on the ground to check the area affected by the application and make sure they know everything they need to know about it.”
What’s good for the Nations is good for industry too
People doing business in the territories are also much more familiar with the issues and with First Nations rights and concerns these days. Many tenure applicants have previously applied for other activities, so their understanding has also greatly increased, as has their willingness to proactively engage with First Nations on any concerns they might have before they even apply to the provincial government.
“We’re seeing industry coming to the First Nations before even making an application, to try and build their interests in right from the beginning,” observes Art. “That way, they don’t suddenly run into a problem halfway through a project and have to halt work because they’ve stumbled on an archaeological site, for example. They’re learning that it’s in their best interests to agree on the approach before they start.”
“Also,” continues Art, “not every application is bad for the First Nation. Some of them represent economic opportunities for Nation members, for example. Maybe they don’t have any negative impacts, and the Nation is happy to support them.” That helps build trust and credibility with the proponents and with government, he adds. “We’re providing them with much greater certainty and confidence than they would have had in the past. Now First Nations are saying yes to applications a lot more often than they did in the past. And now when a First Nations says no, the government understands it really does mean no.”
The professional, consistent approach taken by the member First Nations through the Nanwakolas referrals process has also led to a better relationship with the provincial government, says Art. The government is more responsive to concerns that are raised than it was in the past: “Out of what are now close to 2,000 referrals every year, very few, if any, are approved if the First Nations have opposed them. That’s phenomenal success, and a complete turnaround from the past. It just shows how beneficial this approach has been.”
Getting Started
We encourage companies and individuals proposing to undertake resource development or commercial activities within the traditional areas of the Nanwakolas member First Nations to contact the Referrals Office before applying to the government for a permit or licence.
The Nanwakolas Referrals Team can arrange for them to meet with the First Nation concerned and discuss their proposal. Having this kind of conversation in advance will help the applicant understand the First Nation’s concerns and requirements if the development or activity is to go ahead. The formal application process can be faster and more straightforward by taking a step like this and addressing the matters that are raised in the application.