" The new CEMA will ensure that the concerns of Metis and First Nations People living in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo are heard and addressed. As CEMA is an ""interest based process"" not a ""rights based process"", the First Nation and Metis are involved in CEMA to share the interests of their communities. The improvements will be aided by the formation of an Aboriginal Coordination Committee. This committee will build on the work of the Aboriginal Round Table and the Traditional Environmental Knowledge Advisory Committee to facilitate Aboriginal involvement in all aspects of CEMA's operation.

CEMA formed the Joint Review Committee (JRC) in June 2009, composed of CEMA members and Federal and Provincial Government Regulators. It met several times in facilitated meetings to review background material, debate draft recommendations, and ultimately prepare a final report. The JRC used a process of presenting draft options to the Secretariat, CEMA Members and former Members for feedback to develop the final recommendations. The items for consideration were selected from key areas identified during CEMA's Revitalization Strategy and various independent reviews of CEMA. The association's new goals, structure, and direction will take effect immediately and will be implemented by the Secretariat.

The Review Team met with former CEMA members from the Athabasca Tribal Council Industry Relations Corporations, the Oil Sands Environmental Coalition, and current members of CEMA at the Oil Sands Developers Group and the Northeast Alberta Regulators Group. In addition to these meetings, the Review Team held a facilitated workshop on November 5, 2009 to test several potential options with current and former members of CEMA. The feed-back received throughout this process provided a rich collection of ideas and healthy debate that the Review Team used to draft this report. The Review Team recognizes that not all the ideas received during this process made it into the final draft. The Review Team acknowledges that the recommendations, if accepted by CEMA, may also require a significant amount of work from CEMA members to refine, clarify and ultimately implement.