process did not impose a Northern framework. It allowed the room to construct its own direction. My contribution was to complement that facilitation by introducing the Guiding Principles — sharing a framework that had been built through the same kind of process the room was already experiencing. What gave the principles their moral authority, unlike expert-developed frameworks, was precisely this: they had been built and negotiated by the kinds of people who would have to use them, in exactly the spirit the principles themselves describe. When they were introduced in Lima, they landed because the room was already working in their image. The significance of Lima is therefore not only historical. It was a proof of practice: inclusive, informed, structured dialogue across sectors and jurisdictions. It showed how a sustainability conversation could be made concrete by putting the people who carried the different currencies of value into a process designed to help them work across those differences. The longer Peruvian story matters. The Grupo de Diálogo, Minería y Desarrollo Sostenible has sustained a voluntary multi-stakeholder dialogue in Peru for more than two decades. Its current description presents it as a multi-actor dialogue collective with twenty-five years of operation, promoting intercultural dialogue spaces and agendas around mining and sustainable development. The point is not to claim that the Grupo follows the Canadian principles exactly. It is to recognize the continuity of spirit: a durable commitment to dialogue-based approaches in a country where mining, development and social conflict have long been intertwined. Antonio Bernales went on to found Futuro Sostenible, dedicated to environmental negotiation, consensus building and mediation, and has worked internationally, including through collaboration in GEMM-related work. His contribution reflects a sustained commitment to building practical, structured approaches to managing complex resource issues across sectors and interests. That continuity has contemporary significance. In March 2026, Canada and Peru signed a Memorandum of Understanding to advance cooperation on critical minerals and sustainable mining. The agreement identifies investment, traceability, decarbonization, regulatory and governance frameworks, environmental and social best practices, and workforce development as areas of cooperation. That language is not only technical or commercial. It reflects a broader recognition that critical minerals development depends on governance, standards, social credibility and institutional capacity. 7. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT: AN INFORMING PROCESS Environmental assessment is often treated as a technical exercise: experts generate information, regulators review it, and decision-makers use it. That description is incomplete. Assessment is best understood as an informing process in decision-making — a way of developing, testing, sharing and using information in decisions that must hold across different interests, values and authorities. 161
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