Talisman commits to local consultation

The Canadian energy giant Talisman has formally recognized the principles of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) and enshrined them in its indigenous communities policy.

Talisman, which has previously been accused of human rights abuses, committed to the principles after requesting recommendations from the Foley Hoag law firm. Talisman says its new global community relations policy, which includes FPIC, is part of a programme to ‘obtain and maintain the support and agreement of communities for its activities’.

The decision follows two years of dialogue with two shareholders, Batirente and RRSE, which are networks of trade unions and religious groups respectively. The three parties will now implement the policy together.

FPIC, recognized in international human rights law, will require Talisman to consult communities through their representative institutions, allow them to participate freely in consultation, and assist them in doing this, and ensure that full and correct information is supplied.

Daniel Simard, Batirente’s general director, said: ‘As shareholders of Talisman, we are happy to see the company adopt a cutting-edge policy likely giving it a competitive advantage to access resources which are increasingly located in populated areas.’

However, it is not clear how Talisman will deal with certain laws in Quebec, which militate consultation with local communities. RRSE said: ‘We will be interested in how Talisman adapts its approach in order to obtain the consent of communities in Quebec.’