AFOA has chapters across the country

Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of BC held the Annual Conference on Band Administration, June 28-29, 2011, a two-day event in it’s fourth year. That year it was held at the Coast Bastion in Nanaimo, B.C.. Mikes Meares is the General Manager of AFOA-BC, “People are not entirely aware that we helped develop the national organization.”

AFOA has chapters across the country, says Meares, however, “INAC support for the organization is lacking in some provinces. Manitoba and Ontario have no staff on board due to the lack of funding, and it’s difficult to run these kinds of training programs with strictly volunteers, even though that’s how we started out. We soon discovered you need a paid staff dedicated for it to keep moving forward toward the task of delivering financial training to Band administrators.”
    

The annual conference draws 60 to 80 people, and it is one of a series of conferences that the organization provides to Band administrators in workshop and specialized financial and legal  training sessions year-round. Says Meares, “We run three conferences per year, and offer six different types of community-based workshops. We have three staff in a model of program delivery that works to build capacity in our communities. We are able to say, facilitators welcome.”

He says networking is huge, “one of the biggest benefits from the conference, and building the facilitator network is constant within the organization. We are always looking for those who want to step up and deliver financial and legal skills training to First Nations. It’s a natural for those who hold accounting designations, financial management expertise, and legal backgrounds.” Faciliators receive a  small honorarium.
 

It’s essential training and Band administrators, “need people with expertise to talk to, so we are providing training to people for themselves to make improvements to the financial management of Band administrations all over the province.” Meares explains the AFOA-BC’s methods provide tremendous cost savings in the delivery of skills via 20-person workshops.
 

“The sessions are held by experts, (including law experts) and the facilitator is not costing us a fortune, so there is a huge cost-efficiency in our method, and the expertise goes all the way up to law and finance. We workshop on human resource (HR) issues as well, and we presently have one facilitator with a strong background on Human Resources issues.”
 

There are essentials in running an office, “and HR is a big issue in First Nations  Solid policies and procedures are essential to any organization. We are not in the business of fixing situations. Our goal is to put people into designations, and in terms of building capacity, nothing is more important than HR. We are equipping people in the organization to have the capacity to manage things in Band finance.”
    

Meares said AFOA-BC member administrators deal with Canadian accounting rules that change at pace, “and our staff and other financial auditors know the rules must be followed,” which explains the demand for continuous delivery of courses. Economic development doors are opening wide internationally as well, and First Nations will be required to follow international accounting standards in conducting new trade with countries in Asia and Europe. 
 

Meares notes that the national AFOA offices are instituting a public administrator program with a designation in band administration, curriculum now in development. “The CAPA program will  be rolled out in 2011 in the Fall.” See www.afoabc.org for more about AFOA-BC, started in 1996.

Cost efficiencies of geothermal meeting widespread approval

Look at housing and infrastructure and you should be looking at geothermal, says Inez Miller of Manitoba Geothermal Energy Alliance (MGEA). “It doesn’t matter where you look in the province, the business arrangements work.” Miller says, “Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is expressing interest in geothermal from an overall planning perspective. They tell us it has a strong appeal based on funding, access to resources, and other issues that could make projects successful.”

MGEA wants to be positioned to address areas of concern expressed by AMC in workshops. She notes that Darcy Wood, AMC housing and infrastructure manager, made a presentation to MGEA this spring that contained a lot of statistical analysis about housing needs assessments. “It was an excellent presentation. Geothermal presents phenomenal opportunities and we learned about the issues around potable water that could be tied to geothermal systems.”

Brian Soulier works at AMC on geothermal issues, “What we did last March was host a workshop in a technology working group that focused on the economic development with people in finance, human resources, environment, and infrastructure or housing planning. Our workshops brought together First Nations to communicate about advancements in technology.”

One topic of discussion was geothermal, and Miller spoke about MGEA as did Ed Lohrenz, Vice President of MGEA, Ron Robins, MGEA president, “and Cross Lakes First Nation presented on their success story with a 38-unit housing installation in a district loop. Franklin Ross came with their contractor to discuss installation and the obstacles that were overcome.”

Soulier said, “Knowledge exchange with First Nations communities helps those who are interested and assists others who perceive it cautiously, stating that geothermal is too complicated or too costly. The expense depends on the priority of the community, those seeking good infrastructure solutions with long run cost efficiencies will find the economic capacity. We are advocating geothermal for the communities in Manitoba.”

Winnipeg Geothermal’s Ron Robins is serving president of MGEA. Board members are competitors and Robins is owner of a geothermal  installer company doing design and installation, conducting geological drilling assessments for heat exchange arrays for either commercial buildings or apartment blocks.

Friesen Drillers is owned by John Friesen, operating a third generation family business drilling in Manitoba since the late 1800s. Frieson is a board member MGEU, “We work all over Canada,” from an operational centre in Steinbach, Manitoba. “Drilling in the Canadian Shield is more expensive, even so, you get thermal conductivity in the shield that is higher than average, so it’s a positive geothermal situation that is more expensive to access with the same payback on BTUs, although the cost to drill goes up.”

Geothermal drilling occurs in rock, clay, limestone, any conditions. One of the important geothermal options is called an open loop, which extracts heat from a dedicated water well and returns the water to another well. “If you are in rural Manitoba and need a water well, you can use that same well to extract geothermal energy and drill an extra well to act as a return well. We do a fair bit of that. By nature our first love was drilling for water.”

Friesen says, “Geothermal provides huge cost efficiencies over the long term. In the urban environment, commercial geothermal installations provide huge energy savings in apartment blocks. Commercial arrays work for major manufacturing companies like Bristol Aerospace, which uses high heat processes in manufacturing and they take ground water out for cooling. Acquiring water rights for allows for licensing groundwater systems, a scenario for which we engineer and design systems, be they closed or open loop systems.”

Drills come from various drill manufacturers, and Friesen has a large number of different drills for the variety of jobs the company engages. “My company is now in it since 1892. I’ve been in geothermal since 1972 on the residential side and the commercial side since 1976. In the past five years residential geothermal has exploded into a major part of the business, and it keeps growing as more customers are able to justify the $18,000 to $25,000 upfront costs.”

Sealing the drilled loops is done meticulously with thermal-enhanced grout, which contain very low conductivity values, “We do bore holes up to 600 ft. in Winnipeg and around Manitoba, and the concern is always to preserve ecological integrity of aquifers, separate water tables, and to avoid contamination of fresh water by salt water aquifers.”

He notes, “We have to protect these water tables. Geothermal drillers are going through ground water and grouting creates the security, which takes time and money.” The company does extensive training of drillers, pump installers, and all facets of operations, with a staff of 65, including a hydrologist engineer, “a rare breed. There is lots of competition in the industry. We do a lot of training and skills development in drilling and various technologies.”

Lee Robins of CleanEnergy says, “We provide complete geo-exchange installation on large commercial projects.   The company distributes GeoStar Heat Pumps, which  are available with ten year parts and  labour allowance factory warranties, and a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years,

“Geothermal takes heat out of the ground in winter and releases it into the (building)., During summer it takes the heat from the building and releases to the ground. The dual purpose makes it more efficient - then there’s the type of loop weather it be it an open system, drilled, buried loops, or lake or ocean loops. We have in-house engineers that can provide complete design, energy analysis and life cycle analysis.  They work extensively in commercial projects, estimating proper heat and cooling loads estimating proper heat and cooling loads that contribute to an efficient environmentally friendly system.

Robins says, “The heat gathering loops are designed to serve the equipment, and loops are designed according to geography, as well as financial feasibility. Around the country recreation facilities are using geothermal  adaptations to rinks and halls or swimming pools to exchange heat, moving heat energy from one place for use in another. District loops are very good options wider community-use. I’ve been in geothermal since 1988 and I used to be surprised how long it was taking to get it started. Now the cost of everything related to energy is growing, and the green initiatives are part of the new equations.. Big innovations in efficiencies and quality of materials have made the geothermal investment better than ever.”

Crystal Thibeault is an executive on the board of MGEA and owns International Pipe Manufacture in Selkirk, Manitoba, which markets specialized pipe across Canada to both coasts, from Truro to Bella Coola, and places between like Berens River, Manitoba. Water pipe, electrical pipe, and geothermal pipe. “We put your pipe in the ground and manufacture up six inch pipe, and geothermal uses a technically proficient plastic pipe called high density polyethylene (HDPE)

Police academy training works hands on in Winnipeg

NorthWest Law Enforcement Academy, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, was started by Herb Stephen, former Chief of Police in the City of Winnipeg, explains Stan Payne, Managing Director and Registrar, “Former Police Chief Stephen found candidates for recruitment were not well prepared to make application for duty, and no opportunities existed for them to seek out an education for a career in law enforcement,” and that’s when Stephen formed NWLEA ten years ago.

“We have put through 500 students in the past ten years, graduating from a seven-month program that is approved by the Department of Advanced Education in the Province of Manitoba,” operating under the Private Vocational Institution's Act, says Payne. “Courses are taught by former law enforcement officers in classes running five hours per day, three intakes per year, including April, September, and October.”

All three intakes per year contain the same curriculum. April and September intakes are morning classes from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the October intake runs classes from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.. Students come from across Canada from Newfoundland to Vancouver. The majority are from Manitoba.

Stephen’s academy went to police agencies with inquires about putting together a curriculum based on the growing demand for trained candidate-recruits. “This seven-month post-secondary program carries no guarantees of hiring for law enforcement duty, however, recruitment and hiring occurs in municipal police services, RCMP, Corrections Canada, and Border Services, and Sheriffs offices across the country.”

The NWLEA works a lot in First Nation and Aboriginal recruitment, “We usually average two Aboriginal students per class, at least six graduating per year. Students across the board come from both genders, although 80 percent are male and 20 percent are female.” Payne says the average age of recruits has been increasing in the past two years. “It was average age 19 up until two years ago. Now we are seeing 24 to 30 year old recruits.”

The staff complement at NWLEA is made up of teacher/instructors who have retired from police agencies in Winnipeg, or England, or the RCMP, Corrections Canada, or Border Services. The student who is accepted into the program pays a fee of $7815.00, all-inclusive, with registration uniform, text books, and tuition.

Payne says, “We take individuals up to a week before each course. They must have grade 12, good physical health, no criminal record, and go through our screening process, including four essays that are written during the process, and an in-depth interview.” They are screened with two references, a medical examination, and a criminal record check.

Payne notes, “First Nations are often Band-funded into the Law Protections and Safety Diploma training program. They may proceed to recruitment in Aboriginal policing units or may be trained for employment in outside agencies, security services, government agencies, and individual Bands. Other employment is found in Manitoba government agencies. Most of our Aboriginal candidates are from Ontario and Manitoba. We also customize courses that meet specific requirements.” A current website takes applications electronically, and international students have come to the academy in the past, “but visas are a difficulty.”

Eight shareholders own the academy that is run by a board of directors, “Things are looking well, we have had success thus far. Our September class is expected to be full. We are effective but our teachers make it clear that this is not a replacement for recruit training.” Even so, the curriculum is detailed and hands on in role-playing. Self-defense and martial arts techniques are also taught in the program.

The academy teaches through three basic curriculum streams, including: 1. Law, Protection and Safety Diploma Program; 2. The Certificate Programs were created for those individuals seeking a career in Law Enforcement who: are not planning to complete a diploma program; do not plan to complete a diploma program immediately; want training is specific areas of law enforcement;  3. Aboriginal Police Training; 4. Professional training for government agencies, and private companies also available on-demand.

Payne says, “First Nations and Metis communities bear the brunt of Canada's rising crime rate and it is apparent to community leaders that provincial and federal governments cannot provide them with the protection and security they need and deserve.” Payne says, "As Aboriginal communities move closer and closer to true self-government, providing protection and safety to community members will become a top priority. Without security of the people within a community, there can be no effective government."

This program is designed, he says, "to help meet the needs of the Aboriginal community. Northwest Law Enforcement Academy has developed Band Constable Training - Level One, Level Two, Level Three, plus Community Police Training, and Police Commission Training.” 

Housing a not-forgotten issue in Manitoba

Darcy Wood is engaged in policy-making of housing at Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, “We develop housing and infrastructure policies related to First Nation housing and infrastructure. Our programs and policies relate to the ability to meet the needs in communities, and policies arise from the demographics. Our strategy is based on scenarios that include 18 people to a house in communities like Pukatawagon, where people take shifts sleeping.”

Urgency is an understatement with population growing at 2.5 percent per month. “We identified the number of houses on reserve as of May 2011. We found Manitoba has average housing density at 2.5 per household, whereas First Nations averaged 5.7 per household, almost triple the density.” Wood says, “We need 30,000 houses. We also identified the number of adequate houses, and the number of houses with repairs required.”

Wood said, “Major renovations are required and we identified a cost of about $40,000 per unit in repairs, in addition to minor repairs. We have 1,300 condemned units still occupied. The housing backlog has been identified.” Housing costs present AMC with daunting figures, “It costs $150,000 per house to build, and there will be additional costs of $25,000, depending on location,” says Wood. 

“We identified $2.7 billion required for First Nation housing in Manitoba alone.” Wood says, “No government’s gonna do that,” candidly. Indeed, says Wood, “We receive an average of about $22 million per year for housing (or $30 million in a good year), and 80 percent goes to building supplies.”

In a bid to maximize the impact of the money, Nelson House Cree Nation formed Meetah Building Supplies about ten years ago within Nelson House Development Corporation, David Kobliski, general manager. “We are very humble operation, Kobliski says. “Gert Wilzer runs a bulk building purchase program for supplies, and Bands can save 30 percent in the purchase price of building materials and supplies. We opened a Meetah franchise in Onion Lake, Saskatchewan, two years ago.”

Kobliski says, “We structured ourselves to purchase directly though a buying group. Bands buy at reduced cost and Meetah supplies training to on-reserve labour, building the social capital of the First Nations by creating skilled labour. Previous suppliers would come in, drop off materials, and leave, so this is an improved use of the funding .”

Thus, “We purchase direct and pay less and have money to operate the lumber yard, employ community members. We have big populations to serve, and we manufacture doors and cabinets in Nelson House,” more employed skill labour, creating social capital that is needed in capacity building.

Twelve people are employed in manufacturing at Meetah. “We are currently discussion with other First Nations to offer the same opportunities as we have, and the primary benefit is the transfer of knowledge and creation of skills, making employment opportunities in building houses. We have Red Seal apprenticeship carpenter training at the Nelson House facility graduating a few apprentices every year.

“NCN Builders at Nelson House is a Band-owned company that constructs houses. We offer two packages, one is a house with materials , the other is a supplied and constructed house, so one package is supplying the building materials and one is supplying labour with the materials.” They build on reserve housing, an average of 15 units per year. 

“Project development is portable and the other thing we do is build houses for the real estate market in Thompson, Manitoba, design, build, and sell them. The company is doing commercial building, as examples, a restaurant and personal care home in Nelson House.”

The Nelson House company employs 15 full time employees. Onion Lake’s Meetah Building Supplies run their own operations ranging all over Saskatchewan from Onion Lake. “We have non-competition agreements,” said Kobliski, “and strategies in the sales are based on that arrangement.”

Mortgage financing inter-urban First Nations

Harry DeLeeuw, Co- Chair of Manitoba Tipi Mitawa says a partnership between the Manitoba Real Estate Association and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs operating with funding for a pilot project is putting home ownership into First Nation hands in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with a project that promises province-wide participation. “We have six families settled in homes in Winnipeg and two more are currently looking for their ideal home,” says Harry DeLeeuw, of the program three years in the making. 

 

“We based the program on how to convert rental subsidies into mortgage subsidies. The goal is to provide family stability where the applicants can choose the area in which they wish to live with no restrictions. Home ownership equates to stability and community values.” DeLeeuw says, “This program is has been well received, both locally and nationally. Our initial goal is for 40 homes in the Province. The province requested a pilot project of five homes and then supplied partial funding for an additional 5-7 homes. The Provincial and Federal Governments, through the HomeWorks initiative provide the major funding for the down payments and the mortgage subsidies, while the Manitoba Real Estate Association provided over $300,000 for the down payments as well as providing the staff and initial administration expenses.

Harry DeLeeuw says, “The government is committed to the benefits of home ownership where needed. The project is considered as a possible national program for financing home purchases for aboriginal families in urban areas. The provincial and federal governments cooperated on HomeWorks jointly. A newly announce program called Frameworks will provide a further $62 million over 3 years and replaces HomeWorks. These are funds provided by both the Provincial and Federal governments.” 

 

DeLeeuw says, “We provide a 15 percent down payment with a monthly subsidy of mortgage averaging $440 per month over a locked-in 10-year mortgage. The payments remain constant over the full ten years so that the families can properly budget. Applicants must attend a 10 week financial management program provided by SEED Winnipeg and go through a CMHC home maintenance program. In addition, they must qualify for mortgage financing with Assiniboine Credit Union.” 

DeLeeuw notes that the program has parameters required by Manitoba Housing. “Currently, the maximum house price cannot exceed $180,000 and total family income qualifications fall between $25000 and $54,000 per year.” Manitoba Tipi Mitawa is a provincial organization and the goal is to provide homeownership in all Manitoba urban centres. “In conjunction with Seed Winnipeg, Manitoba Tipi Mitawa is looking to provide the financial management course via the internet in the foreseeable future as this has been an impediment to bringing the program province wide..”

The program is designed to break the cycle of poverty by using home ownership as an equity builder. In additions, the program takes advantage of all the benefits of home ownership including  family stability, pride of ownership, capacity building, financial management and self image.

Geothermal dialogue regards First Nations projects in Canada

NextEnergy's Dave Weber describes geothermal energy this way, "It's not complicated, in fact it's really quite simple. A heat exchanger works the same as a refrigerator, and what it's doing is taking heat from the ground and with a heat pump it's sending heat through the house. The heat pump goes in the basement to replace the gas or oil furnace and the ground heat is extracted by pipes laid in the ground, with horizontal arrays generally excavated to about 6 feet in depth, or from holes drilled a couple hundred feet deep."
     

Weber says, "When the ground extraction is from an array of drilled holes the depth is generally about 200 feet. Making a vertical array shrinks the footprint of the ground loop array, but it's more expensive to go vertical because the drilling cost is higher than the cost of excavation." Weber maintains that the expense may be higher but the process remains feasible. "With specialization in the drilling equipment and process the cost is coming down a bit. Unlike a water well hole you only drill about 5 inches wide. The pipe goes down and there are two u-shaped bends that return the ground-heated water to the heat exchanger."
     

He adds, "In the horizontal array you go below the frost-line, sometimes as deep as eight feet, depending on the climate. Either system is returning ground heat to a NextEnergy geothermal heat pump." The heat exchange units carry a 10 year warranty on the machinery, one of the most comprehensive in the industry. NextEnergy is a strong advocate of complying with industry standards making sure all the installations are done by the right people. "NextEnergy personally hand picks our certified contractors and put them through a rigorous selection process before we sign them on. They are all trained and certified by our in-house experts."
     

Weber says, "These are all independent contractors working in a period of unbelievable growth of this technology." The company's network of installers is setting the bar. He notes that current federal and provincial incentives permit up to $9,000 to be invested in green energy solutions by householders in some provinces, although different circumstances probably apply to Indian Reserves, where the Canada Economic Action Plan is currently underway.
    

 "Geothermal is basically solar energy because the sun heats the earth and pipes are extracting the heat," says Weber. "The systems use 3/4 inch plastic pipe looped in an array that runs across an excavated area to create the energy source. Calculations are based on the size and heat loss of the house, ground conditions and climate. The flow of the loop is controlled by a flow-centre monitoring system mounted on the wall." The regulated flow applies to individual circuits and the flow conducts through the acreage or you can do a pond loop to extract heat from the water. Ground loops can also be pre-arranged in subdivisions by the developer. There are geothermal subdivisions like Sun Rivers in Kamloops, BC.
     

Ground Source Drilling Ltd. is expert in geothermal drilling  for residential and commercial purposes. "We are based in Kelowna, B.C., and serve many locations throughout both B.C. and Alberta," says Lori Faasse, general manager. They are geothermal drillers only, "Specializing in this one field allows us to be extremely competitive in our pricing. Our drillers are certified through the BC Ministry of Environment and all of our drill rigs are successful at working in many different mud and air rotary conditions. We have good working relationships with many regional heat pump installers. We can work directly with you or through your installer and if you do not have a geothermal system installer we can assist you in finding one. We want to help you meet your geothermal goals."
     

The company is a family-owned and operated business with many years of experience in the drilling business. "Drilling holes for geothermal is different depending on the area. You will have to drill to 300 feet maximum in some areas, but on average the depth of hole is about 200 feet," says Faase. "The number of holes to be drilled depends on the ground type involved and the size of the house to be heated."  Ground Source Drilling does the drilling for Sun Rivers Construction in the award winning Kamloops subdivision that leads with innovation in 'greening' their community, in part by building geothermal heating and air-conditioning systems into their house construction since 1999.
    

 "Our drilling for them is on-going and it continues to be a show-piece housing development in geothermal construction. The drilling portion of a geothermal/geo-exchange installation costs anywhere between $8,000 and $15,000 for a house, depending on the size of the house and the number and depth of holes in the array of drilled ground loops." Faase says there are a few areas in the province where you can't do a geothermal installation because the cost of drilling becomes prohibitive, but they work in B.C. and Alberta installing these ground loops and, "usually the first test holes will prove it."
     

Progressive Geothermal Ltd. is a geothermal installation company that operates out of Kitimat, B.C., "I've been installing geothermal and geo-exchange systems in the North West Coast for the past three years," says Paul Silvestre, the principle of the company that installs Nordic Canadian heat exchange systems designed and built in Petitcodiac, New Brunswick. "I trained on the installation of geothermal systems in Calgary and did residential and designer installation courses. It was a two-week course and I went into it as a journeyman heavy-duty mechanic."
    

 He liked the concept from deciding on the heating method to be installed on his own property. "Retrofits are definitely do-able. I would typically go to an engineering firm and design the system based on the heat-loss calculation of the building," says Silvestre. "I would do a site visit and check the age of the building, the walls and windows, the type of insulation, and we would determine the number of BTU's required to heat the building."
     

Silvestre says the northern reaches of B.C. where he lives and works contains many communities that are diesel dependent for their heat, and it might well be electric heat. "They need electrical energy to heat the water in their houses. Cost efficiencies would be found in extracting heat from the ground for houses instead of burning diesel to create electricity to heat houses."; while heat exchangers require electricity the electrical demand on the diesel generator would drop by a significant amount.
     

"I've done vertical systems where the pipes are laid into drilled holes, and I've done horizontal arrays in the Kitimat region." Silvestre says it takes about a day and a half to install a slinky coil horizontal loop of about 100 feet by 50 feet with a depth of about 6 to 8 feet, depending on the soil. "The loops of slinky coil use a lot less ground area and reduced excavation brings down costs." The loops contain a solution or water to extract the earth's heat which is circulated through the Nordic heat exchanger, and "You're not losing effectiveness with a properly coiled horizontal ground loop. The more expensive way comes when drilling an open loop at $40 per foot down two wells to the required depth." The depth varies depending on the availability of water whereupon one well extracts the water for the heat exchanger while the other well returns source  ground water to the aquifer.
    

 Silvestre refers next to the closed loop method of extracting heat from the earth, "It's called the closed loop of multiple wells joined at the 'header' that can be located in the basement of the building and this header has multiple valves to control circulation from the wells." The heat exchanger will generate four tonnes of 'refrigeration' power which is enough to heat or cool a 2,000 sq ft house. A Nordic unit of the required  size costs between $4,500 and $5,000. "The most expensive aspect of a geothermal installation is the excavation or drilling for heat extraction."
     

Regarding the expense of design and installation of geothermal systems, it is the rising cost of hydro and natural gas (and the cost to install natural gas lines) or burn diesel or propane that should be factored into the investment. "There is also the reduction of green house gases and the quiet way of heating the system affords." At his location on the Pacific coast there are communities that would be able to install ocean loops as the way to extract the constant heat of the ocean water. "For some communities there may be added cost because of government regulation and worries about losing the loops to an active fishery. Hartley Bay is a community right beside the ocean and they installed a horizontal ground loop system," partly because it was safer in consideration for their active fishery in immediate vicinity of their village on Hecate Strait.
     

Greenray Geothermal has been installing geothermal energy systems for the past four years  along the Sunshine Coast of B.C., doing installations from Gibsons to Pender Harbour. Joe Fleischer a Next Energy dealer who became a certified installer with Canadian GeoExchange Coalition certification. Fleischer says Canada has variety in the opportunities to employ geothermal and geo-exchange technology to heat homes and save on energy consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, "Ocean loops are popular forms of extracting geothermal energy on the west coast," a system of pipes that extracts the constant heat in the ocean to be used for house and hot water heating or air-conditioning in the summer.
     

He notes this form of heat extraction can also be achieved from lakes or ponds, "Ocean loops and geo-exchange arrays in lakes and ponds are very compact, 10 feet by 25 feet of coiled pipe will supply 4,000 tonnes of extractable heat energy." (1,000 tonnes of geothermal energy is the equivalent of 24,000 BTUs ant that is enough 'heat exchanged energy' to make a tonne of ice in 24 hours.)
    

The application of this energy source is becoming more common every day, "The new BC Ferry terminal at Departure Bay is heated and cooled by geothermal extracted by ocean loop." Ocean loops are unobtrusive and highly efficient both in extracting energy for minimal cost but also for the low cost of installation. An array of pipes can be arranged under a dock or pier and the energy extraction process can proceed with either water or methanol or ethanol propoline glycol flowing inside the geo-exchange array of loops. "The ocean has so much thermal mass that it efficiently pays for itself." Fleischer says ocean loops are efficient and affordable.
     

Horizontal ground loop arrays are put in the ground usually less than 8 feet deep beneath an excavation, "Sechelt First Nation put an underground geothermal array, known as a ground loop, to feed heat energy into five houses." Elsehwhere he says the method in the City of Vancouver is usually to drill from 150 feet to 300 feet to extract heat energy from the earth. "It costs about $15 a foot to drill the holes where it is a feasible ground heat source and one hole will supply 1,000 tonne of geothermal energy so it takes four holes to heat and cool a 2,000 square foot house and supply hot water." Sound proofing around the heat exchange unit makes for a quiet that surpasses air blown furnace heat.
     

Fleischer recently did a geo-exchange installation in Powell River on the Sunshine Coast, and says, "I'd like to get involved with training some people to do geothermal because the demand for installations is growing." There is presently a shortage of installers." Geothermal companies need people qualified to install it, "and it's a physical job," with excavations usually done by hired contractors, then, once the pipes are laid, there are pressure tests to conduct on pipes that are arrayed in tight concentric loops.

     

Pipes are warrantied for 50 years. They call geothermal taking heat from the lap of mother nature, "It's a pure form of heat unlike combustion furnaces that exceed 180 degrees of burning temperatures," literally frying the dust that is blown into the house, and geothermal extraction can come from creative thinking and new sources, "There is a trend in the US toward tapping municipal water systems for their geothermic mass."
    

Jim Croken has been installing geothermal and geoexhange systems in the Okanagan region of B.C. and beyond for the past ten years, and his son Nick has taken an educational pathway into mechanical engineering that will take the family business much farther than Jim might have imagined. Nick is a believer in the geothermal business, knowledgeable enough to write a scholarship-winning treatise about a unique geo-exchange project that took a different tack. Geothermal requires a heat source, water or ground, and these sources equal amazing cost efficiencies in the production of heat energy. Nick studied a geo-exchange project that took heat from the milk extracted from cows and returned it into barn heat, producing ideal conditions for milking in all seasons.
     

"I built my house ten years ago when I was an electrical contractor," says Jim,  "The gas company informed me that it would cost $10,000 to get a gas-line to my house." Jim started doing the research and discovered a business opportunity that fit nicely within his skills and business sense. Soon he was building an enterprise around what seemed like a simple solution for his own purposes. Since then he's done over 200 installations from the Okanagan to Fort St. John, including everything from residential to agricultural (dairy barns, chicken coops) and multi-family dwellings, like 30 unit condominiums. "We target our business opportunities that are off the natural gas grid and those are a lot of places in B.C., including most of the territory east of Revelstoke. 

Northern Division led by First Nation housing specialists

Olympic Building Supplies has been engaged in First Nations housing since 1991 when they opened a division led by Bob Topp. The company has been putting housing into remote northern communities ever since, often using innovative designs and materials, moving housing by whatever method it takes to get there.

These are ready to move stick-built houses, and they moved housing units to Fort Severn, Ontario, the northern-most community in the province, these containing SIP (structurally insulated panels) built by a manufacturer in Calgary, “The community is using oil heat above the tree line and the federal government pays for the shipping of this at great expense. The EMER CORE building envelope works to upgrade insulation R-values to an R-44, a true value that is three times the norm, and the federal government is willing to pay for using this in the north.

“We have been in building supply doing everything up to post and frame since I joined in 1991 to created and open up the First Nation division. I have been doing First Nation housing projects myself since 1982,” says Topp. “We are two guys running the division both working directly with First Nation communities. The division is now called northern sales, or Wakeegan, and I’ve been doing it long enough for some of the chiefs to remember me from their youth.” 

He says Olympic is always ready to improve design and quality to fit limited budgets or build for extreme weather condition, “SIP Panel engineered systems were delivered to Fort Severn because the  feds pay for heating oil, and we justified the expense by factoring in the amount allowed by CMHC per house. A typical house in that region costs $7000 a year to heat.” 

Over the years Olympic has been engaged with numerous communities, considering Olympic Supply Northern Division contains decades of management experience working with First Nation on various building projects. “We work with design and quality of products and we’ve looked at many new ways and changed a lot of things within our department. We are enthusiastic about new products."

The material-delivered house is built with Olympic designs and plans, and post and frame buildings, or SIP panel building, “Whatever they are calling for we pull it together.  The northern market is a natural play for our company and, in 1991. we concentrated more business development  in northwest Ontario and northern Manitoba."

The company is careful to build financial relationships, "selective in making sure we get paid and jobs are getting done, everything is arranged to move onto site. The division employs five or six guys. Trying to fill a market with good business relationships  and that at the end of the day with projects that stand up to the test of time.”

Relationships and buildings are both long-standing, says Topp, “Jim Moyr and myself have 60 plus years combined, and I will eventually  be replaced by the likes of Andre Bayrack who is here now. He needs four or five years under his belt.”

Topp adds, “We’ve been involved in all types of building. We do multi-housing, band offices, crisis centres, police centres, stores, arenas, and various other buildings. One of the advantages we have our own design departments, taking design to a certain level, short of architecture, functional buildings like funeral homes, gas stations (one of these recently finished at Broken head First Nation).”

He says the commercial and residential and northern market focus will continue, “Another thing we do for First Nation communities is expedite product. We can move equipment and expedite movement of tools, parts, and equipment into communities. Transportation is our real niche. We can FOB to any community so they have a cost based on delivery by either road, winter road, aircraft, barge, rail,  even helicopter," (but that’s not a first choice).

Opposition to Compliance’s Raven project appears universal

Lands and waters of the Inside Passage on the west coast had two national entities. The Coast Salish from mid-Vancouver Island to the Malahat on the south who would face Kwak Kwak A’wak tribes directly to the north. The Salish Sea of the Inside Passage was their seafood banquet from time immemorial. At the north end of the Salish Sea the Pentlatch people were of the Coast Salish Nation.

Coast Salish did vigorous trade in the Pacific Coast economy. They were large and self-sufficient as a nation with wealth unsurpassed from Fraser sockeye salmon runs. They traded competitively with Potlatch nations like Makah (or other Nuu Chah Nulth), Kwak Kwak Awak, Haida, Tsimshian, and Gitxsan.

Potlatch contained a system of ownership protocols, identifications of wealth garnered from trade. Everything was recorded in elaborate ‘art’ that was actually advanced hieroglyphics. The only misfortune of the Pentlatch was to occupy a territory holding fossil fuel for it made them a target on their own property of millennial concern. Coal was ‘discovered’ and a coal rush began.

The Pentlatch collective might have been extinguished except blood lines escaped the onslaught of disease and rampant dislocation to live with K’Moks people a short distance to the north of traditional Pentlatch homes in Union Bay and Fanny Bay and lands that climb away to the west on Vancouver Island.

The nightmare for Pentlatch occurred when coal was king. As time passed so did the coal industry from the Cumberland area, and new industries long since emerged, including a flourishing shellfish industry involving K’Moks and Pentlatch families in their traditional waters of Bayne Sound.

Therefore the provincial government is hearing a well-spring of concerns about such matters as traditional rights and title and imminent concerns over settling the First Nation land claims around proposed coal properties, concerns that have to be addressed before king coal returns to wreak havoc again with Pentlatch and K’Moks people. 

On June 28, 2011, K’Moks First Nation declared opposition to Compliance Energy Raven Project, as reported in Comox Valley Echo, a regional newspaper. “K'ómoks First Nation has come out in opposition to the proposed Raven Coal Mine near Fanny Bay,” says the report. “It not only has serious concerns over the environmental impact a mine could have, but also believes the project will be harmful to ongoing K'ómoks treaty negotiations and aboriginal rights.”

The Band's chief negotiator, Mark Stevenson, noted in the press release that the K’Moks intends to become owner of 90 hectares (220 acres) of Crown land between the proposed mine site and Fanny Bay as part of an eventual treaty settlement, and that any mine would, "severely restrict the use of any land added to the K'ómoks land deal in treaty talks.”

 Indeed, K’Moks expresses concerns whether land acquired will be environmentally compromised and untenable for any useful purpose. Issues like quality of the local aquifers and creeks in the immediate area are crucial to K'ómoks people as well as many others, said Stevenson. The K’Moks earmarked Tsable River and Cowie Creek drainage systems, in particular, “Water rights on those two watercourses are part of ongoing negotiations.”

The negotiator said that regard should be paid to waters (including Tsable and Cowie Creek) that empty into Baynes Sound, furthermore, where K’Moks and many growers operate significant shellfish aquaculture interests. K’Moks expects to add more shellfish operations when a treaty is signed. Stevenon stated that promoters of the mine had, “shown no interest in aboriginal and treaty rights. We want to set the record straight. We cannot support any project that hurts K'ómoks' long-term interests."

The K’Moks people are not alone in opposition. Baynes Sound coal mine opposition has been called 'unprecedented, in headlines carried in the Comox Valley Record, June 30, 2011. Reports said over 2500  people submitted comments about the proposed Raven underground coal mine near Baynes Sound during a 40-day public comment period. Overall public meetings about the mine drew a combined total of about 1,500 people in Courtenay, Port Alberni and Union Bay.

Organizations from the B.C. Shellfish Growers Association to the Port Alberni and District Labour Council to the K’ómoks First Nation — a diverse group of organizations and people are standing against this project,” the report said, and, ”of the over 2500 submitted comments, over 95 percent were voicing serious concerns about environment or opposed the project.”

John Tapics, President and CEO of Compliance Energy, recently stated that an independent feasibility study was a significant step forward. He said the study confirms the long term financial viability of the Raven project which is achievable with responsible environmental and social considerations. “We are pleased with the plan developed in the Feasibility Study . . .  and look forward to our next phase of progressing forward through the coordinated Provincial-Federal environmental approval processes."

The Feasibility Study concludes that the Project (100% basis) is financially attractive with an estimated pre-tax NPV (8% discount rate) of CDN$378 million at an average realized coal price of CDN$174 per tonne (prices are FOB Port Alberni). The Project returns a non-levered, pre-tax discounted cash flow-internal rate of return of 28.7%.

Opposition mounts even if the numbers look good. John Snyder of CoalWatch Comox Valley said public and email submissions are showing an amazing amount of opposition. “I was at all three public meetings, where 1,500 went to public meetings and 200 signed on to make their statements public. Of all 200 only one spoke in favour. We are being spun as a vocal minority but that is totally false.”

The common thread is, “We don’t see the proposed project as a future vision for our communities,” said Snyder, “The coal mine is on the east side of Vancouver Island, and they plan to transport the coal 80 km to Port Alberni. Both Fanny Bay and Port Alberni citizens have been joined by Island-wide opposition.”

There is the green factor to consider, says Snyder, that B.C. is willing to export a huge amount of coal, most to Pacific Rim countries, whereas it is illegal to burn coal for energy in B.C.. “The government wants to paint themselves green when they export the problems contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.”

Snyder notes that Port Alberni has fallen on hard times with the downturn in forestry so the city is trying to reinvent itself. “It’s boom and bust in Port Alberni, however, the District Labour Council has passed unanimous motion to oppose the project. They say a handful of jobs at port facility doesn’t outweigh the negatives.”

The negatives they say are 3 trucks per hour, 24/7, 365 days a year, trucking in a circuitous route, going in loaded, coming out empty on the transportation corridor, “which is looking at 150 trucks per day going past your front door.” Snyder adds, “People in favour say, well, in the old logging days we had a lot of trucks. Don’t forget normal traffic and a lot of tourists also have to use the corridor.”

Snyder’s group says, “Port Alberni has air quality issues, winter temperature inversions, trapping pollutants. The project adds up to a couple hundred jobs at the mine site, trucking jobs, and the shipping terminus for the metallurgical bituminous coal product in Port Alberni. Complaince obtained a property in which coal is owned outright, so no royalties accrue to the province. The property is part of the old Dunsmuir deal,” dating back to the end of Pentlatch communities. “All the underground rights went into the building of the railroad to ship the coal.”

Raven Mine will have a 3100 hectare underground footprint, said Snyder," and a 200 hectare above ground footprint. Fifty-six percent of the raw coal mined will be left on the surface as waste rock, and the remaining forty-four percent will be shipped for export. Other deposits are in sight so this is a foot in the door.” He suggests part of the environmental assessment should be inclusive of other deposits within  Compliance Energy's 29,000 hectare coal tenure in the Comox Valley.

“We sent a request for an Independent Review Panel to then-federal Minister of the Environment Jim Prentice last August, explaining why we thought it is necessary for Independent Review Panel. The time line for the 16 year mine would begin in 2013,” although that may be less than completely feasible.

The making of a company to do broad-based marine services

Port services are expanding at the Port of Prince Rupert, B.C., in a huge area joined now by a tripartite business venture with Island Tug and Barge, Metlakatla, and Lax Kw’alaams First Nations.

Ryan Leighton, Director of Operations for Metlakatla Development Corporation (MDC),  is discussing the new marine services company forming on the north west coast. “It`s very early stages,” says  Leighton, “and it is difficult to foresee what opportunities we have for generating employment. It`s a matter of moving assets to Prince Rupert and going from there.”

Leighton says, “There is a multitude of different businesses we are looking at but everything is preliminary and nothing is set in stone.” The tripartite business group is building the business portfolio in partnership with the Coast Tsimshian`s two main communities, Metlakatla and Kw’alaams, and Island Tug and Barge. “I am not sure of how many and different the opportunities are, or which ones we are going to take.”

Leighton notes the north has multitude of opportunities. MDC has a number of companies presently engaged in everything from forestry to gas stations to tour companies to ferry services, including a new  education centre for skills development at a Prince Rupert facility. MDC is committed to making opportunity extend into the two primary CT communities of Metlakatla and Kw’alaams .

The new marine services ventures will operate across the north west coast region, “We are involved regionally. We are going to grow. Barge services up here provide essential fuel, materials, supplies, everything right down to garbage remediation, and our services will extend as far north as Alaska.”

Leighton says, “We are faced with labour difficulties and strong demand for capacity building in our communities. The problem of skill development is widespread and we must spend a lot of time and money on capacity-building.  We have the opportunities, and now we are matching them up with communities.”

Chief Harold Leighton and the Metlakatla Band Council decided MDC would take on responsibility and foot the bill for a ramp-up of labour skills. A new MDC facility is in action in Prince Rupert while the Port of Prince Rupert is finishing signing agreement with Coast Tsimshian. “The signing is coming imminently,” said  Leighton. “The federal government  did make their announcement a few weeks ago. It`s a matter of a short time and the signing does many thing, including provisions for a lot of contracting training.”

Metlakatla has membership over 800, and Lax Kw'alaams is over 1600 members. “With all the port development coming on, the Coast Tsimshian signing with the port authority is for jobs, sole source contracting, and participation in all public information programs surrounding the port.  Leighton says, “The port deal is a long time coming, a number of years and the signing is a recognition that it`s our land.  It`s certain to have a positive influence on our future plans to have Impact Benefit Agreements that that recognize the territory as belonging to Coast Tsimshian.

The Coast Tsimshian community leadership made the business proposal when they approached ITB about forming a broad-based marine services company, “Lax Kw’alaams, Metlakatla (First Nations),  and Island Tug and Barge Ltd. signed a joint venture partnership agreement on April 12, at the 2011 National Aboriginal Business Opportunities Conference, held in Prince Rupert.” 

The press release says Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla First Nations make up the Coast Tsimshian Nation, with the core of their exclusive traditional territory being the Prince Rupert Harbour. 

“This is not a tugboat company,” says John Lindsay, ITB vice president and general manager, “It is a fully equipped marine services company in a hot area of economic development.” Lindsay says the Port of Prince Rupert is undergoing all kinds of expansion to meet the shipping demands of commodity sectors like coal, potash, and other export minerals. “Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla leaders came to us and proposed the making of a company to do broad-based marine services, and we were happy to be asked.”

The new company will emerge over the coming weeks with port services in all areas of support for vessels, including construction of facilities, and environmental protection and remediation operations that will range along the entire coast. Island Tug and Barge itself is engaged in chartered and scheduled barging and towing services in Canada and abroad. This new tripartite company for BC Coastal communities has a solid foundation. The new company will be providing tug and barge, fuel supply, short sea shipping, marine construction, and other marine services to a range of customers on the north coast. 

“We worked in collaboration with our two partners to plan the company launch. Our goals include recruiting and preparing employees with training and development. Employment skills are required with the labour force that we intend to employ,” therefore recruitment includes a strong push into both communities. “We are very pleased to be part of these communities and hire the people who are available,” for the wide range of job opportunities created.

 Aboriginal business planners mapped the new employment prospects coming to communities in a situation of business ownership by two respective Band entities. ”The labour base is ready to be trained,” said Lindsay. “Marine operations at port facilities are regulated by Transport Canada, and all kinds of certification is required for our employees. It takes time and we are starting with the basics.”

ITB is working with First Nations that have marine facilities, and some personnel, already at work for ITB, though the company has never analyzed the workforce for the racial make-up of the employees, and always respects the territorial integrity and inherent rights of the communities they have long-served. The new company opens opportunity to expand infrastructure on Watson Island and Metlakatla with port and marine service facilities that could adjunct to Port of Prince Rupert in the future. The commencement of operations for the new company will occur by the end of summer 2011, while naming of this venture will occur during the summer once Elders of both nations are consulted. The new company will be imprinting national imagery in branding and marketing of the entity. 

When signing the agreement and making the announcement in late April 2011, Chief Councilor Garry Reece said, “We are extremely pleased to be joining with Island Tug, which will allow us to continue to bring skills and employment opportunities to my People.” Chief Councilor Harold Leighton of Lax Kw’alaams followed by stating, “Our communities have large traditional  territories that encompass Prince Rupert and the North Coast. The marine economic development opportunities for us are significant, and partnering with Island Tug will enable us to tap into those opportunities.” 

Recently, the Coast Tsimshian agreed to a business and employment package with the Port of Prince Rupert, and Chief Reece stated, “This is just a first of many steps we are taking to build opportunity in the Prince Rupert area, which will be good for everyone.” Lindsay concluded, “Island Tug has a long history of serving First Nations and other communities on the B.C. coast. We’re very pleased to work with Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla  to develop a range of marine opportunities in their traditional territories on the north coast.”

The making of a Prince Rupert company to do broad-based marine services

 Port services are expanding at the Port of Prince Rupert, B.C., in a huge growth area joined now by a tripartite business venture with Island Tug and Barge, Metlakatla, and Lax Kw’alaams First Nations.

While discussing the new marine services company that is being formed on the Northwest coast, Ryan Leighton, Director of Operations for the Metlakatla Development Corporation (MDC) stated, “It`s in the very early stages,” says Ryan, and it is difficult to foresee what opportunities we have for generating employment. It`s a matter of moving assets to Prince Rupert and going from there.”

Ryan says, “There is a multitude of different opportunities we are looking at; however, at this time, everything is preliminary and nothing is set in stone.” The tripartite business group that includes Metlakatla, Lax Kw’Alaams and Island Tug and Barge is building the business portfolio.

Ryan notes that the North has an array of opportunities. MDC has a number of companies that range from forestry, a gas station, a tour company, ferry services, and an education centre that delivers a variety of educational and skills-building programs in Prince Rupert. The MDC is committed to creating opportunities that will sustain the two primary Coastal Tsimshian communities of Metlakatla and Lax Kw’Alaams.”

The new marine services project will operate across the Northwest coast region, “We are involved regionally and we’re going to grow. Barge services up here provide essential fuel, materials, supplies, everything right down to garbage remediation, “and our services will extend as far North as Alaska.”

He goes on to say, “We are faced with labour difficulties and the strong demand for capacity building in our communities. The issue of skill development is widespread and we have to spend a lot of time and money on capacity-building. We have the opportunities; we now need the skilled labour resources.”

The MDC, through their education centre (FNT&DC), has already started training First Nations people in a number of areas including college readiness, adult graduation and labour skills programs. 

Harold Leighton, MDC’s CEO, is a firm believer in providing the Band membership with the necessary foundational skills that will allow them to pursue further education in the area of their choice. Regarding the agreement between the Port of Prince Rupert and the Coast Tsimshian, Ryan’s comments were, “The signing is imminent. The federal government made their announcement a few weeks ago. The agreement includes many things.”

Metlakatla has a membership of over 800, and the membership for Lax Kw’Alaams is over 3200 members. Ryan affirms, “The agreement between the Port and the Coast Tsimshian allows for jobs, sole source contracting, and participation in all public information programs relating to the port. This agreement has taken a number of years to negotiate. The signing of it will confirm to us that the port acknowledges their obligation to negotiate Impact Benefit Agreements that recognize Metlakatla’s and Lax Kw’Alaams’ rights and title in this territory.”

The Coast Tsimshian community leadership made the business proposal when they approached ITB about forming a broad-based marine services company, “Lax Kw’alaams, Metlakatla (First Nations),  and Island Tug and Barge Ltd. signed a joint venture partnership agreement on April 12, at the 2011 National Aboriginal Business Opportunities Conference, held in Prince Rupert.”

The press release says Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla First Nations make up the Coast Tsimshian Nation, with the core of their exclusive traditional territory being the Prince Rupert Harbour.

“This is not a tugboat company,” says John Lindsay, ITB vice president and general manager, “It is a fully equipped marine services company in a hot area of economic development.” Lindsay says the Port of Prince Rupert is undergoing all kinds of expansion to meet the shipping demands of commodity sectors like coal, potash, and other export minerals. “Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla leaders came to us and proposed the making of a company to do broad-based marine services, and we were happy to be asked.”

The new company will emerge over the coming weeks with port services in all areas of support for vessels, including construction of facilities, and environmental protection and remediation operations that will range along the entire coast. Island Tug and Barge itself is engaged in chartered and scheduled barging and towing services in Canada and abroad. This new tripartite company for BC Coastal communities has a solid foundation. The new company will be providing tug and barge, fuel supply, short sea shipping, marine construction, and other marine services to a range of customers on the north coast.

“We worked in collaboration with our two partners to plan the company launch. Our goals include recruiting and preparing employees with training and development. Employment skills are required with the labour force that we intend to employ,” therefore recruitment includes a strong push into both communities. “We are very pleased to be part of these communities and hire the people who are available,” for the wide range of job opportunities created.

Aboriginal business planners mapped the new employment prospects coming to communities in a situation of business ownership by two respective Band entities. ”The labour base is ready to be trained,” said Lindsay. “Marine operations at port facilities are regulated by Transport Canada, and all kinds of certification is required for our employees. It takes time and we are starting with the basics.”

ITB is working with First Nations that have marine facilities, and some personnel, already at work for ITB, though the company has never analyzed the workforce for the racial make-up of the employees, and always respects the territorial integrity and inherent rights of the communities they have long-served. The new company opens opportunity to expand infrastructure on Watson Island and Metlakatla with port and marine service facilities that could adjunct to Port of Prince Rupert in the future. The commencement of operations for the new company will occur by the end of summer 2011, while naming of this venture will occur during the summer once Elders of both nations are consulted. The new company will be imprinting national imagery in branding and marketing of the entity.

When signing the agreement and making the announcement in late April, Chief Councillor Garry Reece said, “We are extremely pleased to be joining with Island Tug, which will allow us to continue to bring skills and employment opportunities to my People.” Chief Councillor Harold Leighton of Lax Kw’alaams followed by stating, “Our communities have large traditional  territories that encompass Prince Rupert and the North Coast. The marine economic development opportunities for us are significant, and partnering with Island Tug will enable us to tap into those opportunities.”

Recently, the Coast Tsimshian agreed to a business and employment package with the Port of Prince Rupert, and Chief Reece stated, “This is just a first of many steps we are taking to build opportunity in the Prince Rupert area, which will be good for everyone.” Lindsay concluded, “Island Tug has a long history of serving First Nations and other communities on the B.C. coast. We’re very pleased to work with Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla  to develop a range of marine opportunities in their traditional territories on the north coast.”

Pat Alfred Memorial Potlatch

 Pat Alfred's Memorial Potlatch took place mid-spring 2011 in Alert Bay, B.C., and the gathering came to the Big House of the Namgis Nation on Cormorant Island. The Alfred family was preparing the Potlatch for late April or May, and the Alfreds received a lot of community support. They gave a treasure of memories and gifts in return.
 

The passing of Pat Alfred came as a blow to the community when he died by accident on the Inside Passage. He was 75 years old when it happened and Pat was working in the depth of a winter night as  another member of a fishing crew in the herring fishery.  When the herring boat called the Westisle was hauling in a catch at about midnight January 7, 2008, Pat was swept away to die by hypothermia and drowning in the waters beside Vancouver Island.
 

It happened because the ball of herring took off into a panicky swim and pitched the loaded vessel to its side so fast nobody wore the safety suits. Watching his crew mates struggled to gain a way out of the deadly situation, Pat Alfred, esteemed Namgis Elder, lifelong fisherman, important First Nation Canadian citizen, waved the crewmen away to their own salvation. Pat's body was found the next day on the shores of another Inside Passage island. His family and 400 mourners laid Pat to rest the following January 12th, in Alert Bay, BC.. 

Pat was an Elder who believed in the work of the commercial fishery in Coastal First Nations. He was known as a man who was able to preserve a vestige of a formerly prosperous occupation. He had served as an elected chief, was holder of Hereditary Title, and Pat raised a family in Alert Bay with his wife Pauline. In his life, as in his passing, the world changed under his feet, and the traditional ways of his people as gregarious and successful commercial fishers collapsed along the coast.

Before his life, his forefathers fought a secret battle to preserve Kwakwala-speaking culture. The government had outlawed their system of binding society. Potlatch preparation takes immense energy from a group known as Homatsa, a secret society of warriors whose skills include carving. Pat was never a carver. He was born in the middle of the Canadian government's effort to extinguish First Nation culture. 

Pat's sons are carvers. One is Wayne Alfred, renowned master carver who exacts images of old from photographs and artifacts. Pat's grandson, Marcus Alfred, developed his skills since childhood and has become a highly proficient carver following the guidance of masters like his father, and Beau Dick. These cultural artisans are inspired by Potlatch as they carve in a language that seems to make profound statements that have no meaning to anybody but God anymore.

The world today is allowed to marvel without understanding the complexity of the sign language found on the west coast. At Pat's upcoming Potlatch the community will witness a pole-raising ceremony, Pat's memorial pole. This pole is presently being written like a Talmud that supports the oral tradition of Pat's heritage. The carvers dig into the past to make actual pieces that express great heaps of tradition knowledge. A language once removed may actually someday be restored! 

In days of old the highest achievers in a Potlatch culture were artists and artisans, and the compositions were knowledge banks, like books. These compositions described who was doing what (and where they did it) for their livelihood. This region of the world was rich in processed goods long before European merchandise was traded.

The riches came from cultivating the 'tree of life' (they called it) and designing their lives around cedar and seafood.  Eight Potlatch nations on the coast each had their own sets of autonomous collectives. Beau Dick, Homatsa chief, says the autonomous collectives operated like leagues, “often competitively.” A system of hereditary clan houses communicated knowledge via societies. Each of the eight nations on the coast in the Potlatch system was entirely informed of national protocols by reading things on poles, in house fronts, in chilkat blankets, and in all the forms of 'art' that was reproduced.

The art contained written identification of wealth and fiscal origins of manufactured goods. Tthis information was made available to identify the order of society, and the flow of wealth. Crests and logos adorned every piece of equipment, fishing tools, carving tools, all household items, canoes, the housefronts of the House chiefs. This part of the world developed an economy that strongly resembles the stock exchange of today through corporation development of logos and imagery identifying the money trail.

The old St. Michael's Residential School stands in Alert Bay, built in 1929. Pat was a student at the school. “The school should continue to stand,” says Wayne Alfred. “They keep Auschwitz standing as a reminder of the past.” Some of the carving for Pat's coming Potlatch is underway in the basement by carvers who work all hours of the day and night. (The rest of the haunted edifice is deserted.)
 

This Pat Alfred Memorial Potlatch in the Broughton Archipelago occurred as a reminder of enduring strength of those autonomous collectives that Pat came from. It occurred in the traditional home of the Kwakwala speaking nation. The Pat Alfred Memorial Potlatch lasted a couple of days and played host to a couple thousand people in the beautiful Alert Bay Big House. At that event the abilities of the Alfreds and their community to portray a thriving culture will no doubt stand out as a living testament to the life and times of Pat Alfred.