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Indigenous Habitat Participation Program: Grant component

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Overview of Indigenous Habitat Participation Program - Grant to Support Participation in Consultation

The Indigenous Habitat Participation Program provides grant funding to Indigenous Nations, Indigenous communities and Indigenous organizations who need financial support to participate in consultation activities.

These consultations are about the Fisheries and Oceans Canada– Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program’s Crown conduct decisions, such as fish habitat banking arrangements, approvals or refusals to issue authorizations and permits) in relation to fish and fish habitat conservation and protection under the Fisheries Act and Species at Risk Act.

These consultations are focused on understanding:

Who is eligible

You may be eligible for the Indigenous Habitat Participation Program grant funding if you:

Eligible activities

Grant funding is intended to support activities relevant to:

Review related activities include those that help inform an Indigenous group develop a position on fish and fish habitat issues from, a proposed project. Some examples of approved eligible review related activities are the collection of information and data, and hiring of an environmental or environmental consultant to review technical documents.

Through consultations, Fisheries and Oceans Canada can gain feedback on a proposed project’s potential adverse impacts to Aboriginal and treaty rights and discuss possible measures to avoid or minimize those impacts. Often, an Indigenous Nation in consultation with Fisheries and Oceans Canada may also need to determine internally amongst their rights holders and their leadership before a dialogue with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Some examples of approved eligible related activities have included supporting internal discussions with right holders, Indigenous Knowledge Holders, community members and leadership, and preparation and provision of information at consultation meetings.

The general categories of eligible expenses under the Indigenous Habitat Participation Program - Grant Program include:

Administrative overhead is capped at 15% of total grant amount. It is intended to support expenses such as office rent, accounting, human resources and contract administration, etc.

Honoraria for an Elder or Indigenous Knowledge Holder is capped at $350/person/day.

Costs for travel expenditures are also considered eligible expenses. This includes:

Travel amounts are based on the rates and allowances found within the National Joint Council’s Directive on Travel.

How to apply

After receiving a letter to initiate the consultation process from the DFO - Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program, you can apply for Indigenous Habitat Participation Program grant funding by completing the grant application and emailing it to a Fisheries and Ocean Canada regional office.

We recommend you email your regional Fisheries and Ocean Canada contact about the consultation approach before you submit your application.

Note: Preference will be given to requests up to $21,000. Proposals greater than $21,000 may also be accepted if the proposed expenses are relevant and necessary to support deep and complex consultation activities. For applications exceeding $21,000 it is recommended that applicants contact the relevant regional DFO Indigenous Relations Unit prior to submitting an application.

Selection criteria

We process individual applications for funding when we receive them.

We assess all applications and approve grant funding based on the:

We may also review an applicant’s additional resources and the level of Indigenous Habitat Participation Program funds remaining when we make our grant funding decisions.

We give preference to proposals with requests of up to $21,000. Proposals greater than $21,000 may also be accepted if the proposed expenses are necessary to support deep and complex consultation activities. Fisheries and Oceans Canada may approve different funding levels on a case-by-case basis, and will take into consideration the complexity of the activities proposed, and any relevant benefits from the activities.

Indigenous Habitat Participation Program grant funding is not a refundable program.  Do not include in your application a request to fund any past activities and their expenses. Activities and expenses undertaken prior to grant approval will not be reimbursed. Applicants should submit their grant requests soon after receiving Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s letter to initiate consultation.

We do not fund activities that duplicate services, studies, or written materials that are already being funded by other public or private sources.

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Get the application form
Get the application guide

Service standards

We will let you know we received your application within five (5) business days. We will let you know within 13 business days of the funding decision if we have accepted or rejected your application.

We will process grant transfer payments for successful applicants within 30 business days of signing the grant agreement.

We will meet the service standard 90% of the time.

Contact us

Questions can be submitted to the appropriate regional addresses.

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