In this episode of Minerals Matter, Pascale Massot, APF Canada's Canada–Indo-Pacific Critical Minerals Hub advisor and our 2025–26 John H. McArthur Research Fellow, sits down with Saga Williams, an advisor with the First Nations Major Projects Coalition and a member of Curve Lake First Nation, to discuss the intersection of Indigenous rights and Canada's critical minerals development.
Williams explores Canada’s resource governance by framing the industry around a critical dichotomy: the urgency to build a domestic critical-minerals value chain and the necessity of building it thoughtfully and inclusively with Indigenous communities. She explains how this dichotomy can function as an opportunity for communities to engage industry leaders and government to remove long-standing barriers to infrastructure development. She also looks at the governance structures that have moved communities from bystanders to proponents in major projects, "territorial development" as a frame for asking whether development brings lasting value to a region or just to its investors, and what lessons Canada's experience may hold for resource development across the Indo-Pacific.
You can access the First Nations Major Projects Coalition report on Indigenous engagement in Canada’s “Critical Minerals Value Chain” here.
