ABSTRACT
In Canada, industrial developments, and resource extraction, in particular, have been responsible for much of the landscape level change within Indigenous ancestral lands. As a result, Indigenous Peoples in Canada are not only increasingly vulnerable to a changing climate, but experience synergistic, cumulative effects due to extractive industries that operate predominantly within their traditional territories (Birch, 2016; Odell et al., 2018). This chapter explores the nexus of mining and climate change within the unique context of Indigenous communities in what is presently considered Canada, focusing on the province of Ontario (Odell et al., 2018). It reveals, in particular, critical barriers to climate change adaptation that impede efforts to build community capacity and resilience, as well as highlight strategies for Indigenous communities seeking CSR. However, we found that studies exploring this relationship between climate change, mining, and Indigenous Peoples were found to be scant in the context of Ontario, despite numerous studies of these themes independently and bilaterally. This chapter seeks to initiate a discussion around the complex intersection of these three themes, while exploring the role of CSR and other mechanisms used to uphold ethical mining practice principles within the context of our review. The chapter uses a novel conceptualization to structure our exploration of the literature and emerging research need.
