The Proponent identifies 'perceptions of contamination' as a driver for land-use changes; the Board must ensure that the socio-economic assessment accounts for real-world financial impacts resulting from these perceptions.

The recommendation to collect data on the potential economic impacts of perceived contamination aligns directly with the analysis section’s observation regarding the proponent’s tendency to frame contamination risks as psychological or perceptual rather than physical. While the project description identifies these perceptions as a driver for changes in traditional land use, the current assessment lacks specific metrics to quantify the resulting real-world financial consequences, such as the depreciation of local property values or the reduced marketability of agricultural and forest products. By addressing the gap identified in the completeness score and the socio-economic observations, this data collection will move beyond the vague promises of benefits and ensure a more balanced evaluation of the project's long-term impacts. This is a critical enhancement because, as noted in the narrative analysis, categorizing impacts as perceptions can inadvertently dismiss the material economic risks faced by the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation and other local stakeholders. Quantifying these risks provides a necessary counterpoint to the proponent’s claims of net-positive socio-economic outcomes, ensuring that the final impact statement accounts for potential market-driven losses that could offset the projected infrastructure and employment gains.