Move to groundwater is happening to avoid issues like bacteria

 Canadians find up to 50 percent of potable water from groundwater sources in the new millennium. The move to groundwater is happening to avoid issues like bacteria from sources as diverse as wildlife in the ecology to agriculture to humans impacting the environment.  The Canadian Groundwater Association operates offices near the east coast City of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and each two years CGWA.org hosts the biannual ground water conference known as Canwell.
     

Wayne MacRae, executive director of the CGWA, says "The next Canadian Ground Water Association Convention and Trade Show will be hosted at the Winnipeg Convention Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, May 26-29, 2010." MacRae says provincial groundwater associations, industry contractors, engineers, hydro-geologists, and suppliers will attend the conference, with the theme, “Shaping the future of Canada’s Ground Water Industry…” WCC will host 3,500 registrants in workshops and sessions to focus on all kinds of issues related to the supply of safe groundwater.
     

The conference will provide industry specifics of ground water drilling rigs and equipment, focus on safety of personnel, and topics about safety for the environment. Wayne says the CGWA membership will learn about new water pump technology, including innovations that do a couple of things, "New generation ground water pumps eliminate the need for storage and provide constant pressure in the water flow. It gives the water user the same constant pressure as a city water system."
     

The CGWA requires ground water drillers with a 4,000 hour apprenticeship program and/or experience including classroom instruction delivered at two colleges in Canada, Fleming College in Ontario and Red Deer College in Alberta. Red Deer College runs the apprenticeship program for groundwater certification in Alberta, and Sam Johnston administers the drilling program. He says the Alberta training situation is based on apprenticeship whereas in B.C. and Saskatchewan have no apprenticeships in drilling for water.
     

“The levels of safety in the service are about equal, but the situations are different because Alberta is far more complex north to south and east to west. The south eastern area is vastly different from the rest of the province. Groundwater is very important as a source of potable water in Alberta. Whereas cities like Edmonton and Calgary use river water to supply, outside the supply is aquifers.” For the sake of all concerned protection of groundwater is imperative, says Johnston.

Geothermal in Alberta a slow percolating interest

Geothermal Utilities is founded by Joe Lewoniuk in Edmonton, Alberta, who says, "Geothermal is an energy heating solution that's basically free forever once the incremental costs are met." It is a cost-efficient heating and cooling system, "even in a place like Alberta where natural gas is king." Geothermal supplies heat, air conditioning, and hot water, and Lewoniuk  notes that extra costs are generally found in the size of the heat-gathering loop in the ground. "The geothermal industry has more welcoming markets such as in Manitoba where they drill geothermal holes for $3.50 per foot. It's $6.50 a foot in Alberta. You drill 250 feet and the cost is going to be near $2,000."

Despite expense, says Lewoniuk , the energy yield is high and cost-efficient. "It's a far better household investment than say a hot-tub or fancy triple pane glass windows," and he believes Albertans a lagging behind the rest of Canada. Alberta's geothermal reticence is based on lack of knowledge, says Lewoniuk , "The supply chain in building management starts with contractors and are entrenched in gas works in Alberta. It may begin to change now that Natural Resources Canada put earth and geothermal energy on the official list of renewable energy sources in Canada."

 Jeremy Jacob operates Exchangenergy from Pender Street offices in Vancouver and Duncan, B.C., on Vancouver Island. Jacob says, "GeoExchange systems moves the Earth’s energy into a residential or commercial space using ground or water heat exchangers and heat pump technology.  By moving heat instead of producing it through of combustion or electrical heat, we can acheive heating efficiencies of over 500%. GeoExchange systems work with both forced air and radiant floors. Many of our clients prefer radiant floors for their comfortable heat effect. Adding a Heat Recovery Ventilator gives greatly improved indoor air quality.

 Jacob says, "The industry allows systems that use a ground heat exchanger sized for 70% of the building load, but we design systems to run on geothermal 100% of the time without using supplementary heat.  We've found that 100% ground loops suffer none of the 'loop degradation' seen on some partial systems." Time has proven geothermal heat exchange and heat pumps require low maintenance and have the lowest life cycle costs of any other home heating methods.

The atmosphere of living conditions is vastly improved by the use of this technology, "We are control system experts and use careful integration of system elements with an intelligent control system strategy to optimize performance of a GeoExchange heat pump. Solar panels, swimming pools, domestic hot water, air conditioning - depending on the requirements, we can design the best strategy to balance these loads to get the most efficient system."
 

The folks at Integrity Mechanical, in Vancouver, B.C., liken geothermal to a juggling act of amazing proportions, "It's like bringing ten trades together in one smooth and efficient operation," says Scott Miller, the principle, "including several forms of hydronics and circuitry, pumps and heat exchangers." The array is engineered and then installed by excavators or drillers, plumbers and pipe-fitters, heat pump installers, and the process is monitored by regulators. Scott works with solar thermal panels to drench the fluid in solar heat to increase ground heat in the geothermal array.
 

"These solar panels resemble photovoltaic panels but are different because they circulate fluids through panels and can be directed by a series of valves from a mechanical room to feed heat to the geothermal pipes," says Rob Pope, sales manager at Integrity Mechanical. No electrical generation is involved in the thermal solar installation and hot water heat is used in a variety of ways." Geothermal is typically installed on new construction and solar panels are usually 4 feet by 8 feet. "We can supply green energy with huge cost efficiencies to institutions like schools and administrative centres and health clinics and community facilities." 

Polar Refrigeration in Prince George, B.C., installed the NEXT Energy systems with a horizontal array at the McLeod Lake Indian Band, which is a Tse'Khene community that lies up Highway 97N on the way from Prince George to Mackenzie. "They installed it into the administration building a couple of years ago at the main community of the McLeod Lake Band, 150 kilometres north of Prince George," says Dez, of Polar Refrigeration. McLeod Lake Band is an industrious group of over 450 members. The community is presently establishing new Indian Reserve properties in Mackenzie and Bear Lake. As these reserves are developed and housing constructed it is expected more than the present 150 band members will move back to Indian Reserve lands. Innovations like geothermal may be in the offing for new developments.

Parkland Geothermal, Derwin Joelson, President, is a CGC certified NextEnergy dealer in northern and central Saskatchewan. Joelson believes in geothermal is the only way to go in Saskatchewan. The limited availability of natural gas in rural areas combined with costs of propane and oil (or the labour intensive task of providing enough wood as a source of heat in winter months) should only confirm his beliefs.

"Most clients are those who do not have access to natural gas or those who are looking for a more cost efficient heating system in the long run," says Joelson. Compared to conventional heating and cooling systems, geothermal systems have a higher initial cost but lower operating and maintenance costs. "When considering a heating system, we should compare not only initial costs but we must include on-going costs such as fuel, maintenance, and replacement."
 

Geothermal system should be viewed as a long term investment that can mean substantial savings within several years of installation, Joelson says, "The number of incentives and grants available along with the many advantages of a geothermal system and many," including; low maintenance, free air conditioning, comfortable interior environment with cleaner air, hot water, humidity control, and green energy. "This should only convince everyone that geothermal is the answer."
 

Sonic Drilling is a company built on highly functional innovations in drilling that so happen to work optimally on geothermal drilling jobs. With a host of drill and drill head patents Sonic Drilling also manufacturers a line of drills for export to countries all around the world. The company operates in the high-end of the industrial economy by drilling for cost-efficient energy solutions and manufacturers of sonic drills and drill heads.

Ray Roussy patented a super-performing sonic drill that has won awards in geothermal efficiency from the Canadian Geo-Exchange Coalition. Roussy's company Sonic Drilling succeeded in commercializing a sonic drill rig that bores 3-5 times faster (depending on soil conditions), "without using any drilling mud and is able to provide continuous core samples to depths of more than 300 ft. (100 meters)." As a result of these amazing attributes, sonic drilling can be employed in many applications including geo-technical and geothermal projects, environmental investigations, and mineral exploration, with a marked specialty in drilling and sampling for aggregate materials like gravel and for sampling environmental remediation conditions around the province.

 Bill Fitzgerald is the General Manager of Sonic Drilling, and Fitzgerald says, "We sell the drills around the world and employ our own fleet of drill rigs in Canada on a contract basis across the country. We do a lot of environmental drilling for remediation projects and we explore for minerals, and we have a specialization in geothermal holes. We do all kinds of drilling but generally we do the exploratory, environmental, and geothermal holes."

Fitzgerald says, "Our work in drilling in Canada is 90 percent geothermal and 10 percent environmental. It used to be opposite. And we do a lot of work providing core samples for mineral exploration," and they leave a very clean site when the job is done. He explains geothermal drilling comes in two sizes, 5 inch or 6 inch diameter. "These holes provides the width to put in the piping, one inch or one and a quarter inch polyethylene straight down 150 to 200 feet. The loop is made at the bottom and grouting fills the hole," a heat conducive mixture that increases the heat sensitivity in the loop.

Enduring Mikisew Companies

Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN) inhabits the western shores of Lake Athabasca in Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, a community in the northeast of the province that was established in 1788. The place remains oddly remote, tiny, but is developing nicely and the membership is torn between staying isolated or joining the outside world with a road to Fort McMurray.

Fort 'Chip' was once a North West Company and Rupert's Land trading post, and is today the gateway to Wood Buffalo National Park and other magnificent tourism opportunities. Even without the benefit of a road, MCFN moved successfully into both the travel and energy sectors of Alberta. Under the management of Aqeel Ahmad, MCFN created Mikisew Energy Services Group (MESG) and developed companies that staff more than 400 people, recruiting from within and outside the First Nation.

Aqeel said, "MCFN governance runs a portfolio-based system that oversees separate sectors of the economy," from the Mikisew community perspective. A series of corporate entities came into being, like 2000 Plus Ltd., Mikisew Maintenance Ltd. (MML), and MSD to make up MESG. 

 MML and 2000 Plus Ltd. have been involved in the oil and gas industry for the past nine years in Fort McMurray creating hundreds of jobs in the oil and gas industry. The MESG area of operation has been in the oil sands, and these companies perform jobs with millions of hours of work with all classes and levels of machine and technology. The MESG companies have operations at Syncrude, Albian, Trans Alta, and Suncor.

MCFN business plans took MESG companies into rich core areas where members could develop extensive knowledge and experience in energy plants of all types and complexities. They deliver manpower to administration as well. Aqeel said, "MESG has employed well over 600 employees. Last year MESG put in approximately 806,130 man hours in those project areas." MESG companies will expand, and more may appear. "We are actively searching for new ways outside Fort McMurray, and within Edmonton, to provide employment and training opportunities for Mikisew and other First Nation or Aboriginal people."

He said, "These companies have building capacity even with current obligations in very interesting areas of the oil and gas economy," and they are on the lookout for new opportunities. Aaron Kaskamin is a site manager for MM Limited Partnership. "We are a union company. In order to get employment, employees have to be members of local unions," said Aaron. "We work with local labour and trades unions to get Mikisew members into the local union whenever it is possible."

Kaskamin is joined by Mikisew managers found in operations across the board. April-Eve Wiberg works for Air Mikisew, and Edmonton-based Mikisew Slings and Safety Ltd., two more companies owned by MESG. April-Eve said, "What happens now is that other long-awaited opportunities ensue, and we have to learn how to take advantage of them." She said that Air Mikisew started about 10 years ago when MCFN bought Contact Air.

 

"The goal was to ensure never again would the community of Fort Chipewyan be at the mercy of a southern-based, for-profit airline. Too much was at risk." Also, owning an airline raised the possibility of a money-making venture for MCFN. "We have 11 airplanes, and 21 pilots operating within a fiercely competitive industry," said April-Eve.

"Our entire operation is strategically targeted at running an airline." Air Mikisew staff function with specific and high level training and accreditation in Fort McMurray. "We can always improve, and this is our goal, though overall I think our Fort Chip client base and MCFN leadership are pleased with the company's performance.

"We're flying full most of the time, our freight program is stretched to keep up, therefore I'd suggest these are signs of things going fairly well. We're proud of being named Fort McMurray's Business of the Year in 2005, a fairly exciting accomplishment in light of the incredible amount of business operating and gravitating around Fort McMurray."

Air Mikisew flies scheduled flights out of Edmonton City Centre Airport to both Fort McMurray and Fort Chipewyan. April-Eve added that even though the season is 'off' for now, Northern Mikisew Sport Fishing owns Alberta's top-rated group of fly-in fishing lodges. 

The only Aboriginal group with troops on the ground

Squamish-Lil-Wat Cultural Centre is prepared for the crush of the world at one of the greatest of sporting spectacles, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. "It was a busy year," says Josh Anderson, Frontline Operations Coordinator for the First Nation cultural facility in the middle of Whistler that opened in June 2008. "The centre is in the best location possible to sustain high-level interest beyond the 2010 Olympics. It has proven to be something people want, all kinds want the First Nation experience. It's more than a product," Anderson says, "It's a presentation of Squamish and Lil'Wat histories and Coast Salish meeting Interior Salish ways of life."
     

The Whistler area has history between two nations and the centre makes this apparent in the modern context. "We have about 20 ambassadors and seven support staff working 9:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. seven days a week. During the day the centre is open to the public for tours and exhibit viewings; in the evening the centre hosts evening galas and private functions for a maximum of 700 people at a reception and 130 to a sit-down dinner." The centre has a commercial kitchen, cafe, and gift shop.
     

Anderson says, "The gift shop contains an extensive selection of Coast Salish and Interior Salish artists and others from the Lower Mainland," and artists from the USA's Pacific North West. "Visitors are greeted by an ambassador and treated to a cultural performance followed by a 15 minute film that shows both Nations in their traditional territories and communities." The tour reveals modern and traditional art and history and a discourse about mysticisms inhabiting the valleys of Coast Mountain corridors and lakes. 
     

"The Great Hall contains canoes, and weaving displays, hunting and fishing and traditional gathering practices on display. The 'What We Treasure Gallery' contains archival and interactive displays to teach the languages." The original Chief Joe Capilano Blanket is on display, his original negotiating garment made of mountain goat wool, which Chief Joe Capilano wore to England in 1906 when he met with King Edward VII.
     

"Modern Art is displayed in a contemporary art gallery upstairs," says Anderson, "and the outdoor exhibits feature a Long House, and a historical representation of an Istken," a re-created dwelling for Interior Salish people. The site contains a Salish workshop where guests are invited to work at making crafts like bracelets, medicine bags, and 'paddle' necklaces. The centre provides a nature walk for 100 metres with signage that explains the flora and fauna of the territory.
     

"The two nations spoke different languages and the displays and events in the Great Hall and the surroundings showcase the differences. Squamish used wool in garments, whereas Lil'Wat used cedar." Canoes differed since Squamish made ocean-going vessels whereas Lil'Wat traveled the rivers and lakes. "Despite these obvious differences they were close through trade and shared the territory in Whistler in harmony. They have a common history about a shared village called Sto7ez village that was destroyed by a landslide."
     

There is a lot of talent and energy around Whistler and the centre gives Whistler a complementary First Nations presence. The cafe's menu has been indigenously inspired, says Anderson. "The foods are spiced with our own herbs and in-house smoked salmon and pemmican is available. Visitors want a Canadian Aboriginal experience, which gives them reason to further explore Canadian First Nation culture. We are taking it deep and we are noticing the summer crowds are very good for us." Performance groups come from both nations and event planners deliver a balanced program in all seasons. The employment strategy for the centre involves Capilano University and the Aboriginal Youth Ambassador training program.  
     

First Nation security company T'musta7 Aboriginal Protection Services (owned by Lyle Leo of Mt. Currie First Nation) will be providing security services to the Resort Municipality of Whistler and other businesses, including Crown Corporations, during 2010 Winter Games. Lyle is partnered with United Protection Services Inc. Aboriginal division United First Nations Corp. headed by VP Earl John. Leo’s focus is on the Sea-to-Sky area, “We are looking at 100 pairs of boots on the ground within the next two or three months,” he says.
     

T'musta7 is a 100% Aboriginal security services contractor operating jointly with United Protection Services of Edmonton, Alberta with business development mentoring of Earl John, VP  and BC Surrey office support and guidance of Ken Robertson, Business Development Manager and Lizette Peters, Human Resource Manager who also delivers licensed security training program which is governed in BC by the Justice Institute (BCJI). BCJI administers a wide variety of public safety programs throughout the province and has an education partnership with Wilp Wilxo’oskwhl Nisga’a Institute (WWNI) in New Aiyansh, Nisga’a Nation.
     

Leo develops business aspects from his office at the New Earth Business Solutions Centre in Mt. Currie. He developed clear operational objectives out of a $75,000 INAC grant to build a multi-year business plan for an Aboriginal security service. “We are closer than ever to operational status since clarifying and renewing business relations. We had to after VANOC rejected our bid for services directly related to the 2010 Olympics,” he explains.
     

Leo remains firm in his resolve. “We were the only Aboriginal group with troops on the ground,” he says, “and to be honest, it was quite disappointing to be rejected by VANOC.” T’Musta7 reassessed in order to create a sustainable long-term opportunity as a sub-contractor. They now have personnel trained and picking up assignments across Canada. “We are particularly interested in pursuing the market in First Nation, Métis, and Inuit operations,” he points out. “We are going to be a national service.”
     

Leo's company was going on two years of experience. He says, “We’re not entering the field to be competitors but to meet the demand for trained Aboriginal security officers.” He says that Aboriginal security services are in high demand at a minimum of 22 airports in Canada and bilingual services are required in many of these contract opportunities. “We are working toward training and licensing 2,000 Aboriginal security guards,” says Leo, “and while we are excited about Olympic-related opportunities—even after VANOC looked right past us—we will be happy to work in the Resort Municipality of Whistler and beyond.”
     

The T’Musta7 recruited security men and women to work at the music festival in Whistler and a 4X4 rally at Pemberton. Leo has actively recruited First Nation personnel and has since been joined by Chief Don Harris of Douglas First Nation, who is, Leo says, “making a lot of headway for Aboriginal community economic development since partnering run of river projects with Cloudworks Energy. They want to take part with organizing opportunities for First Nations with the 2010 Winter Games."
     

Chief Harris delivers business that issues from a Douglas First Nation energy program. Leo says, "Chief Harris is tuned in with the changes in the aboriginal community with his participation in the election of National Chief Shawn Atleo and the opening of the Osoyoos Business Centre.” (Chief Harris was speaking at the IPPBC Conference Nov. 3-4, 2009 in Vancouver.)
     

Leo applied for security services contracts with the BC Hydro Aboriginal Procurement process and in partnership with the Douglas First Nation has plans for licensed security courses to start between 12 to 20 recruits.” Chief Harris says about T’Musta7, “We are recruiting in the Lower Mainland where Douglas First Nation has a lot of members. I am working on the political agreements with INAC to get people trained for employment. Lyle has contracts and we have a 40-hour training program to start between 12 and 20 recruits."

     

First Nations were players in Whistler pre-Olympic developments, according to Ken Melamed, Mayor of the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW), who says they have big plans for the area. Early in the development of the 2010 Olympic program for Vancouver, the opportunity arose to bring First Nations closer to the community and deeper into the cultural organization of the 2010 Olympics. First Nations received 300 acres of land in Whistler, allowing a certain amount of flexibility in economic opportunity. Local First Nations are working with the municipality to conform to official community development plans. “We agreed to recognize each others plans for development,” said Melamed.
     

Proposals include a commercial, a residential, and a recreational development. Melamed says recreational development could include a golf course or similar attraction. The recreation development for the Callahan Valley is a big investment and opportunities within the RMOW are “being treated according to the Community Charter, which demands [First Nations] are treated as any other investor.” The mayor welcomes this opportunity to work with First Nations, whether they take on projects themselves or engage other developers in the process.

Melamed points out that the new Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Centre in town, "is within the municipality on land that was earmarked for community uses. When First Nations approached us it seemed outside our thinking, but it was such a good idea and within our interests, therefore, we donated the land waived property taxes and a significant economic investment was made there for the benefit of the whole community.” Tax breaks gave start-up business a better chance at success. Melamed says, “They’re up, and they’re rolling, and there is no question that this is a major contribution because already the response from local business members and visiting tourists alike has been very positive.”

The mayor notes that 50 % of the construction of Whistler Olympic Village Park was done by First Nation contractors like Creekside Resources, and employees. He says, “Capacity-building and jobs went into the Squamish Nation, which was given new community resources, and that is a very cool thing.” He added, “We are very happy with that, and I must say the quality of work was exceptional.”

Churchill port open July to November on Hudson's Bay

Churchill Visitors Bureau

 

The Port of Churchill is situated on the western shore of Hudson's Bay, in Northern Manitoba. It is open four months of the year from July until November, says Bill Drew, Executive Director of the Churchill Gateway Development Corporation, who noted that the 2009 shipping season is shaping up to be a good one. Making the tonnage grow at the port has always been a challenge, however, the port is constantly working to attract interest from world shipping circles. The distances between continents are shorter at the top of the world but the opportunity to sail these shorter distances between Northern Europe and Russia and Canada is restricted by Arctic ice.

"Churchill Gateway Development Corporation (CGDC) was established in June 2003 for the purpose of marketing the Port of Churchill through diversifying the traffic base and building two-way traffic," says the website. Drew says, "OmniTrax Inc. headquartered in Denver, CO operates the port facilities and the railroad from Churchill to The Pas." Drew is pleased to note that 75 percent of the people who work for the Port of Churchill and Hudson's Bay Railway Company are local and Aboriginal.

There are a wide array of jobs available at the port as well as in the town of Churchill (www.portofchurchill.ca) and on the rail line that transfers cargo along a southeastern span 800 kilometres, from the centre of the western coast of Hudson's Bay to The Pas, Manitoba. From there cargo moves to points in Canada, USA, and Mexico. The port was developed in 1928 after a long mercantile and industrial age history that began in 1686 as a Hudson's Bay Company fort when a semi-permanent post was established a few kilometres from the mouth of the Churchill River.

By 1717 HBC men in York Factory and present day Churchill were actively trading furs sought from Rupert's Land and there was a whaling industry working to serve the British Empire with lamp oil and medicinal unguents. HBC eventually constructed a formidable fort called Prince of Wales Fort to defend their interests against French warships and this stands today as a national historic site in Churchill.  Today vessels come to Churchill from July to November via Hudson Strait passing Iceland and Greenland and Baffin Island to pick up grain as well as bring fertilizer from Russia. One recent operation in cargo saw fertilizer coming from Estonia.

On average, the port exports 500,000 tonnes of grain per year. People who live and work in this distant Arctic home come from the town or other communities in Nunavut and Manitoba's vast north. Drew says, "People really enjoy living here,'" which doesn't surprise Drew because most of the people are locals from Dene, Cree and Inuit heritage, "It's a bit of a melting pot of northern cultures." The mayor of the town Mike Spence is Aboriginal and Mike sits on the Board of Directors of the Port Of Churchill Gateway Corporation.

Drew says the Aboriginal component has been integral to the development of the Port of Churchill, "The port is unionized with members of the grain handlers union, PSAC, and ILWU locals. We have a Canadian Customs office and the employees rotate on a monthly basis when the port is operational."  The sailing season of today, says Drew, may change in years to come with the onset of later seasons and early break-ups of ice on the Hudson's Bay. That change is yet to come, and nor is it a desirable occurrence, he says. The town has another distinction, "the situation with polar bears," is pretty straight forward, "there's a lot of Them."

Aboriginal employees the core at Churchill port

The Port of Churchill is situated on the western shore of Hudson's Bay, in Northern Manitoba. It is open four months of the year from July until November, says Bill Drew, Executive Director of the Churchill Gateway Development Corporation, "It's not going too bad at all." Making the tonnage grow at the port has always been a challenge, however, the port authorities are constantly working to attract interest from world shipping circles. The distance between continents are shorter at the top of the world but the opportunity to sail these shorter distances between Northern Europe and Russia and Canada is restricted by Arctic ice; cost efficiencies remain in shipping cargo this way by meeting a railhead sooner (because it's cheaper to ship cargo by rail).
    

"Churchill Gateway Development Corporation (CGDC) was established in June 2003 for the purpose of marketing the Port of Churchill through diversifying the traffic base and building two-way traffic," says the website. Drew says, "We operate port facilities and have an interest in a public/private railroad from Churchill to The Pas." Drew notes that 75 percent of the people who work for Port of Churchill and Hudson's Bay Railway Company (partly owned by Omnitrax of USA and the port) are local and Aboriginal.
    

These jobs are found at the wide array port facilities in the town of Churchill (www.portofchurchill.ca) and on the rail line that transfers cargo along a southeastern span 800 kilometres, from the centre of the western coast of Hudson's Bay to The Pas, Manitoba. From there cargo moves to points in Canada, USA, and Mexico. The port was developed in 1928 after a long mercantile and industrial age history that began in 1686 as a Hudson's Bay Company fort when a semi-permanent post was established a few kilometres from the mouth of the Churchill River.
     

By 1717 HBC men in York Factory near present-day Churchill were actively trading furs sought from Rupert's Land and there was a whaling industry working to serve the British Empire with lamp oil and medicinal unguents. HBC eventually constructed a formidable fort called Prince of Wales Fort to defend their interests against French warships and this stands today as a national historic site in Churchill.  

Today vessels come to Churchill from July to November via Hudson Strait passing Iceland and Greenland and Baffin Island to bring fertilizer from Russia. One recent operation in cargo sees phosphate fertilizer come from Estonia and Murmansk.
    

The port handles the export of 50,000 tonnes of grain per year. People who live and work in this distant Arctic home come from the town or other communities in Nunavut and Manitoba's vast north. Drew says, "Whenever I ask these people if they like living here, they reply, 'Yes, I want to live here,'" which doesn't surprise Bill because most of the people are locals from Dene, Cree and Inuit heritage, "It's a bit of a melting pot of northern cultures." The mayor of the town Mike Spence is Aboriginal and Mike sits on the Board of Directors of the Port Of Churchill Gateway Corporation.
    

Drew says the Aboriginal component has been integral to the development of the Port of Churchill, "They are tied to the unions as part of the grainhandlers union, PSAC, and ILWU locals. We have a Canadian Customs office and the employees at the international port offices rotate on a monthly basis when the port is operational."  The sailing season of today, says Drew, may change in years to come with the onset of later seasons and early break-ups of ice on the Hudson's Bay. That change is yet to come, and nor is it a desirable occurrence, he says. The town has another distinction, "the situation with polar bears," is pretty straight forward, "there's a lot of them."

Winton Global houses built by following the numbers and shooting the nails

Building much-needed new homes in remote locations is a challenge for many First Nation communities.  So much so that many are now pursuing the idea of using factory-built, precision-fit wood framing components to quickly erect more and better quality homes. 

     

Winton Global Homes, based in Prince George, BC, operates one of the most technologically advanced roof truss and wall-panel manufacturing facilities in Western North America.  Delivering factory-framed housing components to First Nation communities in order to help alleviate the crisis in housing has become a key focus of the company.

     

Marlene Fehr-Power, General Manager of Winton Global Homes in Prince George alludes to shifting preferences she has noticed when it comes to First Nation housing, "Over time, it is becoming more and more popular for forward-thinking First Nation communities to build multi-family dwellings as a part of their community plans."  

     

And the demand for housing is changing, says Marlene.  "First Nations have a growing number of elders in their communities and these folks often require a form of housing known as 'Visitable Housing'."  In simple terms, a Visitable Home is a home with a zero-step front entry and a bathroom on the main floor which incorporates a 3 ft. door.  "Visitable homes enhance inclusion and participation in community life," says Marlene, not to mention the advantages of easier long term care.

     

Winton Global Homes also produces floor systems, pre-built wall panel and engineered trusses for major urban projects as well.  "We have just finished building floors, walls and trusses for the Friendship House in Prince George, B.C., the new Prince George Native Friendship Centre Transition House that stands on the outer fringe of the city's downtown core. 

     

This major new facility provides a warm and safe home for many disabled and displaced people in the northern B.C. city, but the company also delivers home packages far afield as well.  "Our homes are shipped as far as Manitoba, and to the Pacific North West of the US." 

     

Marlene says, "The truth about factory-framed or panelized or packaged homes is that they shine as housing solutions in remote areas."  Many of the 700 Indian Reservations in Canada are remote and housing construction can cause difficulties when the planning isn't perfect.  But now, Winton Global Homes can deliver a new home package directly to site that requires nothing but assembly.  "It's all about controlling your costs.  With easy to assemble pre-built wall panel and engineered trusses all packaged up and delivered with windows, doors, siding and roofing, you can keep a tight reign on 'construction cost over runs' which are so common with other methods of building these days.  For people working within a budget this is the ideal solution."

     

This kind of cost control and efficiency applies to single family dwellings, multi-family projects and two-storey buildings as well.  

"We help communities build the homes they so desperately need, from design through materials selection through to complete assembly instructions and project coordination," she says.  "Our homes are basically assembled by number, and erected to 'lock-up' so finishing can occur on the inside."  

Once the basic outside portion of the home is built the inside work proceeds. The choice and design of a community's factory-framed, panelized homes for remote communities can be done via telephone and with the use of e-mail.  The factory in PG designs, builds and ships floor systems, numbered wall panels and engineered trusses directly to site for assembly.

     

"Follow the numbers and shoot the nails," says Marlene. "The personnel required to build the home only need a qualified carpenter on-site to help guide the process.  And, it goes very smoothly."  Remember, the procedure from lock-up is to install the electrical, plumbing, and heating systems that finish the new home in preparation for move-in day.  "The panel-built home is quickly erected and trades do the rest." 

     

As First Nations Drum reported previously this year, "We love a challenge in the design phase because our goal is to give the customer exactly what they want," says Marlene.  Winton Global Homes has been constructing panel-built housing for the past 30 years, previously doing business as Spruce Capital Homes.  Feel free to view a comprehensive selection of affordable new home designs at their Website by visiting www.wintonglobal.com .

Solar energy in Canada lags behind other industrial nations

First Power Canada is the brainchild of Joe Thwaites and his team from Taylor Munro Energy Systems that  brought to bear the training and skills development in the T-Sou-ke Nation Solar Demonstration Project on the south-west corner of Vancouver Island. The T'Sou-ke Nation installed an $800,000 array of solar energy in the Vancouver Island community to create passive solar electricity and solar thermal heat, light and power. "In summer," says Donna Morton, "the solar panels feed energy back into the BC HYDRO grid," making a valuable contribution to the First Nation community's economy.
    

Morton is founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Integral Economics (CIE), in Victoria, B.C.. First Power Canada is a partnership with Taylor Munro Energy Systems, Morton says, "First Power Canada is a project to creates funding, finance, training, and other community supports to First Nation communities wanting to gain energy autonomy. " The T'Sou-ke project is a prime example of the prowess for capacity building that First Power Canada intends to employ in a number of situations.
    

This kind of energy development is going to go much further in Canadian First Nations because the communities with resource bases and energy demands look to green energy solutions, and industry is making close liaisons to move projects like T'Sou-ke into the making. "Our organization," says Morton, "is geared to work with First Nation communities, Aboriginal organizations, and other groups that face significant barriers to working in the trades." The target audience includes immigrants and those who come from a background of poverty regardless of their origins. We work with people who have special gifts that may fall outside the world of book learning experience. We find the funding to do the training with partnerships in various organizations, adding value to the training and finding people in the margins of society."
    

Morton says, "We train anywhere and piggyback on existing training facilities; we train by doing. It's tactical training with a lot of hands-on building, testing, and learning to fix and maintain equipment in the real world. It's a crash course with apprenticeship qualities, but we employ variables by meeting and customizing the needs of communities. We take people where they are and use whatever skills they possess, in roofing, mechanicals, plumbing, carpentry, or electrical. Any one of these skills is a good entry and our training really works well on people who are jack-of-all-trades."
    

Morton notes that installing solar electrical and heating systems is an integrated trade. "Our training puts all those pieces together. Loggers and wood workers, unemployed mill-workers, these people have huge assets that are not being employed and no programs appear to exist for these people. There are not enough trained people in solar installation to meet the present demand and we hope to incubate the capacity for starting businesses, doing this for all kinds of reserves and bringing business to life in communities. Metis organizations and non-Status First Nation people and immigrant workers who come from a mix of ethnicities, our purpose is to cross the racial barriers."
    

Morton says North American use of solar energy is way behind developments in Europe. "They are 25 years ahead of us and have created a hundred thousand jobs. Solar installation is proceeding in Canada but 10,000 installers are needed, and solar infrastructure need these builder. First Nations can enter the industry in a way that favours the way they respect the earth, and solar harnesses the earth's resources by not taking more than is required. It is a form of natural power." 
    

 First Power Canada designed their education initiatives from a series of pilot projects including the T-Sou-ke project (reported in August 2009 First Nations Drum Dialogue on Development), "From this point we would like to install another 100 more systems this year. From the beginning we foresaw building whole systems that would reduce dependencies on burning diesel and coal to create electricity. We will solve energy problems organically and we will promote training and installation together. We will produce solutions in project financing and business development, building the capacity to own their futures, undoing dependency. It's job creation living up to the traditions of the ancestors. It will assist communities in getting past the perception of dependency and connect them to the world."

Cedar Bark Weaving Comes From Deep Roots

Kerri-Lynne Emily Dick is a master weaver in the tradition of the Haida, Kwaguilth, Tlingit, and Kootenay peoples. She is the daughter of Beau Dick, Master Carver of the art of the carved and painted wood and stone of the Pacific Northwest.

As Dick describes it, to her cedar weaving, basket making, and other products of the northwest coast comes as naturally as breathing. Dick says basically her whole life has been immersed in the Haida and Kwaguilth culture. "I personally would never call it a cultural revival. It still existed because of strong families and strong lineages."

Cedar weaving was a part of Dick's life from the beginning. "My mother took me out to gather roots. We'd be on the beach and she showed me where to start and how to pull 'the root, and we'd end up with 40 or 60 feet of root."

Then there was cedar bark stripping. "It occurs in the late spring and summer seasons. You strip the bark when it's warm, because the sap is running. In winter it's solid and breaks. We did most of the weaving in the cold months. I remember in the winter that was the big thing. In the winter we potlatch and in the summer collect weaving material.

"The first time I learned to weave I was eight years old living in Prince Rupert." She was introduced to a Tsimshian woman who knew how to make cedar bark baskets. "My mother asked her to teach me." Dick trekked over after school. "I made one basket and she told me 'You have to go out and buy a bunch of cedar and do it yourself.' I thought to myself, 'Buy cedar?'"

Cedar is the Tree of Life. The majesty of Kwakwaka'wakw culture and the all of the rainforest nationalities in North America's Pacific region lives with the history of their incredible horticulture of cedar groves. It is proven they practiced advanced trans-generational management of cedar, creating surplus bark by harvesting the bark from living trees, according to anthropologists.

Dick was a young girl who, "thought it was bizarre that she suggested cedar bark was something you buy." The sacred cedar was something you gather. "When you strip bark from the living tree, you take a hand-width, only as much as your own hands can work with." Her mother moved back to the Queen Charlottes where Dick's learning continued at pace.

"I have to mention my teachers and mentors. Willy White, Primrose Adams, April Churchill, Evelyn Vanderhoof and Donna Cranmer were instrumental in encouraging me to develop the skill." Willy White "is a fast-black-weaver, a member of a society of weavers who have come back from the past," says Dick. "People are born into it. They get the weaver's bug and immerse themselves in it." They enter a supernatural world.

"It is important to be careful about spirit when you weave. I like to push it to a certain point and I know the energy is still in the cedar. I become yolakwamae' and that means entranced or hypnotized in Kwakwala." By the time she was 20 Dick taught cedar bark weaving in Kingcome Inlet. She showed pictures of weavers at work and one young student noticed how closely people worked together. The kids in her class wanted to take their knowledge to another level.

"The kids decided to utilize an old big house and they cleaned it up and cleared out a lot of debris." She had several serious students. "I've always been an immaculate weaver and some people wanted me to keep it a secret, but I wanted to hand it down to the generations. It's not about money, and it's not about popularity.. It's about how many generations this knowledge will extend into the future. To be remembered by my students and family is my payment."

For more information about Kerri-Lynne Emily Dick's cedar bark hat and Chikat blanket weaving at the www.umista.org in Alert Bay, B.C., in the heart of the Kwak'wala speaking nation.

Freelance Writing by Mack McColl 

Lateral Violence in Indigenous Life in Canada

 

David Segerts is a man who lives for positive change in Canadian society. Sitting one day with Segerts in his tastefully decorated apartment I felt surrounded by an orderly nature given to his lifestyle and was treated to his impeccable manners. I was also given a taste of his lifetime of memories before he talked about the really important issues he works on.

Segerts was born in 1960,  at the time Uranium City, Saskatchewan, was a city of 5,000 souls, and he grew up to see the mining property turn into a ghost town. Uranium City was shutdown in 1982 but by that time he was ready to move on.

"I am a Dene/Cree but I generally say I am Dene because I look almost exactly like my Dene father." He shows a photograph that proves he is the spitting image of his dad. "I dropped out of school when I was in grade 8 and went back for adult upgrading by the age of 25 at Alberta Vocational Centre in Calgary. AVC was a good learning experience although the facility lacked a First Nation student organization so I helped put one together. We held dances, fundraisers, and hosted a room that the school donated, which became a gathering place for all nations and a useful foot in the door for First Nation students."

A short time later Segerts began to study something very important in First Nation life in Canada, the tactics of oppression known as lateral violence that are especially prevalent in systemic racism. It is this lateral violence that explains the extraordinary incarceration rates and recidivism in crime for the First Nation people of Canada. As high as 50 percent of the prisoners in Canada either male or female are First Nation or Aboriginal people. For these kinds of disparities to exist in a segment of society that is less than 5 percent of the total population, the problems have to run very deep indeed.

"Lateral violence goes on in every First Nation organization and starts with arguments like, 'My family is better than theirs,'" he says. "It is important within the system of racism to get us fighting amongst each other. We are actually born into it, however, because the system is designed that way. Public awareness is the only way to address it," says Segerts.

"The methods of lateral violence include, backstabbing, gossip, infighting, shaming, humiliating, damaging comments, belittling, and sometimes violent behaviour." Other terms for what is happening to First Nations in Canada include auto-genocide and horizontal violence, he said. These terms are applied mostly to the members of oppressed groups in society, and he explained, "I didn't really understand lateral violence until I was about 30 years of age. I rarely discussed it until I did the research first. Lateral violence is designed to prevent efforts to heal the effects of oppression."

Lateral violence teaches people to disrespect and deny the rights of an oppressed group, to destroy values and beliefs. Practitioners will engage in infighting, faulting finding, and scapegoating, raising the stakes of competition via jealousy and envy. The attacks are made upon those who already possess low self esteem and further attacks lower a person's self worth.

Ultimately the goal is to make the victim take blame for the continuous putdowns, "This is the nature of oppression," says Segerts. "It is a denial of their self and humanity. They think they have become objects unworthy of respect. They fail from the inability to recognize themselves as human beings. They become convinced that the oppressor owns them, and often the oppressor does own them through financial dependencies upon welfare and personal dependencies upon drugs or alcohol."

He says, “When my son was 11 years old I brought him to Calgary to live with me, and after a few short weeks he told me, ‘Dad, I didn’t realize that Indians didn’t drink. I didn’t realize the Indian men work.’” It was another stunning learning experience about lateral violence for Segerts the father who has never spent time stuck in welfare programs but knows on reserves and in some urban communities it can become a long-running generational trap.

“People who feel dependent suffer a lack of personal power. When they lose power they will see their cultural identity eliminated and be unable to stop it,” he says. Many times the First Nations in Canada have been known to hide their own beliefs or adopt the beliefs of an oppressing society. “They were dislocated from the land and suffered breakdown of family structure during the Residential School years. Indigenous people were removed from families at age four in some cases, only to be afflicted with physical, mental, sexual, and social abuses.”

His own mother had a safety pin jammed through her tongue by nuns at one such school, then was made to sit facing a corner in a classroom for speaking her Cree language. “There were many children killed by torture,” he asserts, “and other families were disrupted by one child being raised in a Catholic school and another being raised in a United Church run school. In fact the Residential School system was a highly specialized form of lateral violence.”

The lateral violence design for First Nations people results in a distrust of First Nation leaders by their own people. “It results in a distrust of those who might emerge to help," he says. "Rising stars are severely restricted or punished. Leaders who make any difference are fired and persecuted. Incompetent leaders are recruited and promoted by the oppressors. Dividing and conquering is the main process used by the oppressors.”

Segerts needs to write a book with a biographical story line if he hasn't already. He was trained as a technical engineer at BCIT and NAIT, then, while living in Vancouver, he entered the film industry, first as an actor, then as a producer and director. When we last spoke he was running a youth-at-risk employment initiative that operates across Canada for First Nations. Remember the name David Segerts because the book would be an important read. If you know David Segerts personally, put the suggestion to him again. 

David Garrick's study of CMTs on the west coast of Canada, Broughton Archipelago

A Firewood CMT

In the days prior to the Industrial Revolution First Nations built canoes to travel the extensive waterways of the Pacific coast. Each dugout canoe was manufactured out of a single cedar tree and these dugout war canoes were designed for ocean voyages of long duration.

Sometimes during these journeys canoeists ran afoul of the weather. The water on the Inside Passage is a reasonably constant 6 or 7 degrees Celsius but the weather varies and rainfall is a potential threat all year long, especially from October to March. Dealing with these wet conditions called for planning, which included the invention of the 'firewood CMT,' a form of culturally modified tree (CMT) found on remote islands and inlets of the Pacific Coast of Canada.

"Knowledge of the history of forest use is crucial for understanding the development of forests, which in turn helps to understand how societies react to forest development," said Rikard Andersson, Faculty of Forest Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. "Culturally modified trees (CMTs), recorded in the western U.S. (and Canada), northern Scandinavia, and south-eastern Australia, are features that can be dated precisely, and they bear witness to unique events of human activity."

David Garrick is a Canadian anthropologist with specific expertise in CMTs in west coast rainforests. "These artefacts define the First Nations communities in a practical way. They had camps all over the place, often at the mouth of a river. If they were taking a three-day voyage by canoe and it started raining they would pull out of the water, but how would you start a fire?"

An essential CMT would be found ashore where they could and often did make land and find the firewood CMT, each site containing a dry source of wood. The travelers would find a small cavern dug above the roots inside a massive cedar tree trunk. "They would peel shreds of the dry cedar found inside the hollowed trunk and they would ignite a fire inside the tree."

These firewood CMTs were commonplace, "There's one found at every encampment." Garrick has studied these peculiar modifications from Banks Island all the way to Kitkatla. He and others have found abundant evidence of a kindling source that provided instant fire to travelers. For the past three decades David Garrick concentrated on the study of humans interacting in forests on the Pacific Coast.

He found a perfect place to do CMT research on Hanson Island, about 15 km south west of Alert Bay, B.C.. He set up the Earth Embassy in the heights of the 4 sq. km. island and he worked under the auspices of the Yukusem Heritage Society (composed of four First Nations from the Broughton Archipelago and Johnstone Strait).

"If you keep the ecosystem intact it becomes a living laboratory and a living museum, and a living classroom." For further study, "We have a post-secondary learning opportunities in the area. We have trails into all kinds of nooks and crannies on Hanson Island."

Garrick's laboratory on Hanson Island has been a welcome presence in the First Nations of coastal B.C. because his research provides a good history lesson about cedar usage in the culture and economy of the people. For instance a 'core-popped' cedar tree looks like a traumatic injury to those who pass by, but core-popping was no problem to First Nations, instead, it was a marker of time, "What happened to the cedar tree core was caused by a memorable event like a potlatch."

First Nation forest use went into a state of chaos for a period after contact with Europeans and the anthropology is specific about describing the trauma, "After epidemics reduced the population of Indigenous people, you see the sickness of the people reflected in the cedar peelings. Suddenly there are one-tenth the number of people available to peel cedar tree bark or cultivate and harvest other plants in the cedar groves."

Garrick's work will continue on Hanson Island where he has equipped others to teach everyone from small groups of First Nation students to the First Nation CMT researchers who identify the evidence of occupation and prior use in traditional territories. He maintained beautiful gardens at the Earth Embassy and he had members of the multi-nation Society trained to cut and maintains trails to the instructive cedar groves that will stand in perpetuity on Hanson Island.


Freelance Writing by Mack McColl in 2009

Naikun in Haida Gwaii is about green energy for the provincial grid

Haida Enterprise Corporation (“HaiCo”) made the announcement on Aug 13, 2009, on behalf of the Haida Nation, that an agreement was done with NaiKun Wind Energy Group Inc. (TSX-V: NKW) to acquire up to 40 per cent of the wind energy project being developed through NaiKun Wind subsidiary NaiKun Wind Generating Inc. in the giant Hecate Strait of the North Pacific Coast. 

HaiCo spokespersons said the Haida Nation and NaiKun Wind Energy Group (“NaiKun Wind”) have signed a memorandum of understanding in support of the agreement. 
     

HaiCo and the Haida Nation will be seeking the support of the federal government for the proposal and they have said the initiative is consistent with the objectives of the new Federal Framework on Aboriginal Economic Development. The current estimated cost of the NaiKun Wind project is approximately $2 billion and the Haida are positioned to acquire that 40 per cent of the 396 MW wind energy project, and add a host of energy associated benefits. 

It involves over 100 tower mounted turbines arrayed over hundreds of square kilometres, as proposed for the Hecate Strait. "We are still working on the environmental review and it will be ready, depending on the weather, either in September or October 2009," says Thomas Olsen, MBA, and CEO of HaiCo.
     

"Future income from part ownership of the wind energy project could provide the catalyst to enable the Haida Nation to create a sustainable economy for Haida Gwaii." The Nation is poised to develop the giant islands in their reaches in such economic development areas such as forestry products, fisheries of several species fin and shell, and aquaculture, not too mention that opportunities in tourism and recreation. The new power from ownership in NaiKun adds immensely as well as to community infrastructure.
    

Olsen says the Haida Enterprise Corporation and the Haida Nation will be seeking the support of the federal government for this proposal and that includes a range of offices including INAC, Environment Canada, and DFO. "It will change life and give a wide stream of benefits to people in Haida Gwaii," he says. "The current energy situation is very limiting to the economic development aspirations of the Haida Nation. Diesel generated power is too restrictive of the development process."
     

HaiCO is meanwhile following the processes and meeting with certain politicians like Hon. Chuck Stahl, Minister of Indian Affairs, "We are working with a bureaucracy to see how we fit," Thomas says, "and this is an Aboriginal economic development initiative so we are trying to emphasize the wide array of benefits to the Haida equity position in NaiKun Wind Energy Group. It's a concern to the whole population of these islands," he says, "that they gain ownership and access of a green energy solution," but the cost of the huge array of wind turbines is daunting, "and people don't necessarily understand the debt."
      

Olsen says the federal and provincial governments have to understand that the wind energy project is about more than green energy for the province, "It's about self-reliance for the Haida and self-determination. We have a big fishery and scallop aquaculture underway, and we have tourism opportunities with existing operators. We have a substantial forestry license, 120,000 CM per year. We are concerned about creating new capacity for jobs that will continue to provide downstream benefits within the local economy, and that comes from an equity position in power generation from a large producer like NaiKun." 

HaiCo Environmental Review 2011 / Haida withdraw from Naikun investment opportunity Dec 2011

Video of photo collage, Hanson Island, Yukusem Canoe Carving Project by Beau Dick

Cloudworks and Douglas First Nation in hydro developments

Nick Andrews of Cloudworks Energy Inc. was sanguine about progress on run-of-river projects underway in 2009 in the In-SHUCK-ch Nation's Douglas First Nation, “A couple of run-of-river hydro sites are going along well, three are in the works and there are more to come.”
     

Andrews is able to discuss a six-year working relationship with the Douglas Band, located about 50 km northwest of Harrison Hot Springs in southwestern British Columbia. “A Participation Agreement is in place for the proposed suite of six run-of-river projects (Douglas, Fire, Stokke, Tipella, and Lamont Creeks, and Upper Stave River) located within the Douglas traditional territories.” 
     

The Independent Power Producers of BC have been struggling to get their message out. “We are not effectively stating the case for this kind of development,” says Andrews. “The more misinformation, more confusion, more is the need to put in place the broad consensus that exists for run-of-river power generation.”
     
He says, “First Nations are the strong suit in the business mix, and their presence is working to correct social conditions because these projects directly affect these people. We are doing great just by making our own partners happy. We are not splashing across the world,” but the First Nations involved are in it from the outset. 
     “They are involved in all levels of study, environmental, engineering and site development, and they are finding skilled employment and the First Nations have ownership of the energy resources. There is capacity building underway and ancillary businesses are finding jobs and contracts,” with their new capacity.
     

Chief Don Harris is the Douglas First Nation chief, “We are active at four sites right now although the Harrison site is winding down,” as the first phases of the development near completion. “Our camp at Stave Lake is running at full capacity with 160 people working. We are in the wind-up stages on part of it, with a couple of adjustments to be made.”
     

Harris says the Douglas communities obtained a lot of jobs in machine operation and construction, “And Kiewit will be picking up a some of these guys on their other developments,” and in fact, “they will be able to make a career out of Kiewit.”
     

Douglas First Nation communities will gain new life above and beyond employment because now these communities can grow, weaned from diesel power that fails often and fails to provide the capacity for new housing development.”We're shareholders and we do maintenance on the system when it gets up and running. One of the things we key on is environmental issues and cultural issues.”
     

Harris recently attended an inter-tribal fisheries meeting in Vernon, BC and says, “We discussed the standards for power projects,” in relation to the salmon fishery, “and wildlife issues. We are setting standards for developers to deal with the issues and First Nation participation.” Douglas First Nation has been working diligently toward December 31, 2010, “when the power grid we are building joins the BC Hydro grid.”

Commercial Law absent in First Nations life in Canada

Economic development is a promising direction for First Nations in Canada, especially since the process has come under close scrutiny from coast to coast. University of Toronto Law School hosted a unique forum on First Nation economic development in 2008. “I think the most important thing is that everyone recognizes First Nation economic development is a political matter,” said the event moderator.

Holding an economic development conference at a law school should come as no surprise. Commercial law in Canadian life is huge, and until now, seemed strangely inconsequential to First Nations. Professor Doug Sanderson and other law faculty attended an intriguing luncheon address on day two of the conference highlighted by a speech delivered by Hon. Michael Bryant, Aboriginal Affairs minister, who suggested the need to create commercial law courts for First Nation reserves.

“How much of law in Canada is commercial law?” we asked. “Oh, about 60 percent or more,” Professor Sanderson replied. It is this type of law that sews up jurisdictional economics, and it is this law that is unavailable to aboriginal people. Aboriginal people are born under a completely different set of rules. Does not a single realization come to light that the Indian Act excludes a race of people from the economy by depriving access to commercial law? First Nation economic development is, in reality, written out of the realm of mainstream economics. A system of trusteeship holds all wealth, and monitored activity on an Indian Reserve has to be decided by a Minister of Indian Affairs. 122 sections of the Indian Act to make this potentate’s role very clear in the lives of aboriginal people. They are not allowed to have money.

Aboriginal economic development became a legal academic exercise with a national focus because the minster of Aboriginal Affairs in Ontario was arresting and jailing elders from Kitchenaumaykoosib Innunwig who protested Platinex Mines. Perhaps, it was out of frustration that the minister spoke to the matter as one of commercial rather than criminal concern. He called for a system to be put in place to accommodate the legal concerns of the First Na tions.

This is a fact of law, that a political document (the Indian Act) apparently deprives First Nations of a legal framework to possess money. The session’s moderator said solutions to these substantial concerns of legality are currently being sought. He believes people are only beginning to meet to address economic matters at the political level. Sanderson added that the situation is made even worse because a “settler versus native” attitude prevails and political issues remain unresolved. He noted the situation at Caledonia (and could have included the mind-boggling threat to personal security undergoing Mohawk people when they go to the store).

Sanderson said, “There are many ways for First Nations and corporate Canada to act together. . .The current political reality demands that thought and speech gravitate around ways to do economic development.” Sanderson also suggested that the best example for a way forward was cited in Minister Bryant’s speech when Bryant raised the subject of the Chocktaw Tribal Council (CTC) in the USA. The CTC has a federally-constituted commercial law court that governs activities under their jurisdiction along the Mississippi. They have American Indian judges and Chocktaw commercial law.