First Nations call for Ontario environment minister's resignation
Last month, Todd McCarthy and Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz wrote to federal Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin asking her to move away from legislation that they say would 'delay project development and undermine competitiveness.'
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Vancouver Sun
4 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
B.C. Hydro's 2024 call for power on rocky road through B.C. Utilities Commission review
B.C. Hydro opened its second call for new sources of electricity barely two weeks ago, but the projects in its 2024 call for power remain under review by the B.C. Utilities Commission, with questions raised about cost and overlapping claims of First Nations during the process. The province has promised to expedite the addition of new, renewable power sources to B.C. Hydro's inventory, using Bill 14 to exempt projects from environmental review processes. Last December, B.C. Hydro picked 10 such projects to add up to 4,800 gigawatt hours per year of electricity, with some starting to deliver electricity by 2028. However, the Utilities Commission's panel reviewing the energy purchase agreements has extended the timetable for the written review seven times, from an initial closing date for submissions of May 1 to a final closing date of July 8. Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Westcoast Homes will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The BCUC's role is to review B.C. Hydro's energy purchase agreements 'to determine whether they are in the public interest,' said BCUC spokesperson Kelsey Newsham Baerg. Extensions to this review were granted to give B.C. Hydro more time to respond to issues raised in letters sent by affected parties, such as overlapping land claims in relation to several proposed projects. Newsham Baerg said there is no set deadline for a decision, which has reached the 'deliberations phase,' but that could come as early as Oct. 6, based on the commission's aim to issue results within 90 days of the close of proceedings. On Tuesday, Energy Minister Adrian Dix said the 'BCUC is taking an appropriate level of time, but I don't expect any delay in the timeline.' 'In fact, we've moved forward very quickly on all of these projects,' Dix added, pointing to government's Bill 14, which was drafted specifically to streamline approval of renewable energy projects such as the projects selected in the 2024 call for power. Executive director for the Clean Energy Association of B.C., Cole Sayers, who goes by his Nuu-chah-nulth name Kwatuuma, said his group is 'following this proceeding closely and have no concerns at this time.' However, a think-tank that has been critical of the energy policies in government's CleanBC program does see a delay in the proceedings and questions whether B.C. Hydro will be able to hit the ambitious deadlines set in the 2024 call for power. B.C. Hydro needs to acquire 3,700 gigawatt hours per year of electricity before 2033 to meet forecast increases in electricity demand and wants to put the first 700 gigawatt hours per year on the grid before 2029. B.C. Hydro spokesperson Saudamini Raina, in and email response to Postmedia questions, said the private producers have committed to 'a guaranteed commercial operation date' in their agreements. Critic Barry Penner, however, noted the timelines are tight. 'Delay is not your friend when you want projects built on time and on budget,' said Penner, executive director of the Energy Futures Institute, an offshoot of the pro-resources think-tank Resource Works. Penner, a former B.C. cabinet minister and lawyer who has represented independent power producers, said the projects in the 2024 call for power align with the needs that B.C. Hydro spelled out in the last integrated resource plan that the utilities commission has already approved. 'So this process, I would have normally thought would be fairly routine,' Penner said. From previous experience, Penner said independent power producers run into problems securing financing for the next steps of developing proposals, including the detailed permitting that projects still face. Government has promised to streamline permitting for such projects, but Penner noted that detailed permits for things such as road building, stream crossing or siting facilities require time. 'Governments of every colour have made promises to reduce permitting time, but permitting has actually got longer, despite whatever commitments have been made,' Penner said. Penner believes one reason the review process is taking longer is the objections of First Nations to half of the IPP locations. Government made a minimum 25 per cent First Nations ownership of the power projects a requirement of the call for power to help speed them along, and in nine of the 10 projects, the Indigenous share is 51 per cent. However, neighbouring First Nations have raised objections based on overlapping claims to their territories in five of the projects. Dix said 'there are always challenges with projects on the ground, but we're confident in these projects.' B.C. Hydro, in the final argument that it filed with the Utilities Commission, said the permitting process will provide ample opportunity to consult and accommodate Indigenous Nations with overlapping claims. However, former BCUC commissioner Richard Mason, in his blog Just and Reasonable, said the claims of some First Nations likely won't end with a Utilities Commission decision. 'First Nations rights are constitutionally protected and if the Crown's duty to consult is not fulfilled, the Supreme Court of Canada has said that a regulator's decision to approve a project 'should be quashed on judicial review,'' Mason wrote in the post. depenner@
Winnipeg Free Press
10 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Creating opportunities through housing
Opinion Chief Maureen Brown of Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) describes the decision to build houses off-reserve as visionary ('Huge step for us': Opaskwayak opens downtown apartment building, July 4). Let's hope she is right and that it represents a new trend in looking for housing solutions. OCN's announcement follows on the heels of a decision made in January 2025 by the Roseau River Anishinaabe First Nation. They committed to building a 99-unit apartment building in Winnipeg with another large project in the planning stages. Both First Nations have recognized that their members are heading to Winnipeg and other centres for more than housing. What we are seeing appears to be a strategic shift in the thinking of First Nations leaders and their communities. It is likely to be followed by many more First Nations housing initiatives in larger centres for two reasons. Brook Jones / Winnipeg Free Press files Opaskwayak Creen Nation Chief Maureen Brown cuts the ribbon while Paragon Living president and CEO Nigel Furgus looks on during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for 380 Young St. on July 4. First, although OCN has its own long-established and successful business community, their announcement reflects both the need for housing and the need for its members to have broader opportunities for jobs, housing and other services beyond their community. The chief and council's decision is a logical and forward-thinking move. First Nations are facing growing populations and limited housing options. In addition, many remote and isolated First Nations communities have limited job and employment opportunities. For most isolated Manitoba First Nations communities, that reality hasn't changed in decades. In remote communities like Pukatawagan, the unemployment rate has remained around 75 per cent for the past 40 years and there is nothing on the horizon that suggests that will change. Tapping in to the Affordable Housing Fund's $14.8 billion is clearly part of OCN's ambitious plans. OCN committed $1.8 million towards the project and $15.6 million came from the federal AHF. OCN hopes to build a 129-unit apartment block in St. Boniface in 2026, and a third major project of 240 units in south Winnipeg in 2028 using the same approach. The new approach is good for First Nations members and it is good for the city of Winnipeg. It takes advantage of a new federal housing initiative and it will ultimately be part of the solution for some of the homeless and unhoused living on our river banks and taking shelter where they can find it. Brown has noted that this will solve the housing problem for some OCN members, but it will also be a significant investment and help diversify OCN's already impressive business holdings. The Roseau River Anishinaabe First Nation and OCN leadership are responding to the fact that across the country, more than 50 per cent of First Nations people live off reserve. First Nations young people, particularly, are voting with their feet. OCN has acknowledged that half of its population already lives off-reserve. This is familiar to most First Nations leaders and the provincial and federal governments. The second reason is that life outcomes for people living in isolated communities, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, are compromised everywhere. Statistics Canada reported many years ago that about 60 per cent of the disparity in individual income, educational attainment, health and life expectancy could be accounted for by a community's isolation. Living in communities a long way away from a major centre is a risk factor. There is evidence that isolation and limited opportunities are likely to contribute to the high suicide rate, high levels of addiction, drug problems and the various forms of violence and self-abuse that reflect the despair that result from having limited opportunities. Overcrowding in the houses that are habitable add to growing discontent among its youth, who face adulthood in their communities with no work, little income and few recreational facilities or other social services. These are not conditions where young people thrive. A healthy community is not possible when most 15-to-30-year-olds have no work, no prospects of work, few recreational options and little available by way of physical or mental health services if they need help. The multiple challenges that face First Nations leaders are exacerbated by the fact that existing housing in the most remote communities is inadequate, dilapidated and falling further into disrepair. Living in overcrowded conditions is hard on people and the houses. Making minor or major repairs in a home in a remote or isolated community poses its own problems. Doing major renovations is complicated by the absence of building supplies, hardware or trades people necessary to complete the repairs. The end result is that fixing houses in most First Nations is a long, elaborate and frustrating exercise. And it's expensive. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. Everyone needs to have a place to live, a place to raise a family, a place to feel secure. Like too many other First Nations, Pukatawagan leadership has struggled for decades to meet the demand for housing in their communities. Unfortunately, the prohibitive cost of building, certainly in remote communities, limits their ability to respond to the need and results in overcrowding, and often deteriorating housing conditions. That is why Pukatawagan, too, has been exploring housing options in larger urban centres. The involvement of First Nations in the development of housing should be seen as a welcome trend. As OCN Chief Maureen Brown suggests, projects like the new apartment development in Winnipeg demonstrates the power of inclusion. She noted that, 'When we invest in Indigenous-led projects, we are investing in sustainable growth for everyone.' Housing is the foundation for healthy families and healthy children. When the OCN chief notes that the projects they are starting in Winnipeg are a necessary part of meeting both their housing needs and their goal of economic diversification, other levels of government should step up to facilitate this new approach. Urban off-reserve housing can solve many problems. It is not only an opportunity for economic growth for First Nations, but an opportunity to create spaces for young people transitioning from remote communities to larger communities. Places that can sustain them. Urban places that can offer them hope for a better future. It is a way forward for all of us, and the benefits will extend not only to those who engage in making the transition to the city and supporting their families in affordable housing, but will enrich us all over the long-term. Governments at all levels and First Nations need to be encouraged and supported in finding ways to move this housing agenda forward. Ralph Caribou lives in Pukatawagan and is a University College of the North (UCN) regional community co-ordinator, former Mathias Colomb band chief, and education director. Jerry Storie is a former Flin Flon MLA and represented Pukatawagan for many years.
CBC
20 hours ago
- CBC
Manitoba Indigenous groups unite, ink infrastructure and development agreement
Social Sharing Two Indigenous groups in Manitoba have agreed to work together on major infrastructure and development projects. The agreement comes as the federal government looks to fast-track projects across the country. The Southern Chiefs' Organization, which represents 32 Anishinaabe and Dakota First Nations in the province, and the Manitoba Metis Federation have signed a five-year agreement. It outlines their shared commitment to ensure First Nations and Red River Metis voices are included in the approval of any project proposed by the Manitoba government and supported by federal legislation. A new federal law gives Ottawa sweeping powers to speed up permits for what it calls "nation-building projects." The Southern Chiefs' Organization and the Manitoba Metis Federation say they'll work together to pursue Indigenous-led developments in areas including forestry, harvesting and traditional economies. The Manitoba government is also exploring how it would create and operate a proposed Crown-Indigenous corporation. "This agreement sends a message to all governments, partners and industry that First Nations and the Red River Metis are working together to shape a future that is led by Indigenous nations," Grand Chief Jerry Daniels of the Southern Chiefs' Organization said Wednesday. "We are forging a path towards economic independence and sustainability, ensuring the voices of First Nations and Red River Metis are integral to the design, approval and implementation of nation-building projects across this province." Prime Minister Mark Carney has said the legislation is needed to shore up Canada's economy during the trade war with the United States. Ottawa has also promised to build up northern infrastructure, in part, to meet a NATO military alliance spending target for critical infrastructure. It's unknown which projects could be fast-tracked, but the government has pointed to ports, railways and pipelines. Carney recently met with First Nations, Inuit and Metis groups to discuss how best to build projects in partnership with Indigenous Peoples. The Manitoba Metis Federation turned down Carney's invitation to discuss the legislation, after Ottawa invited another Metis group the federation claims has no reason to exist. Other Metis groups and First Nations say communities represented by the Metis Nation of Ontario have no claim to Metis heritage and that Ottawa and Ontario have no right to recognize them. Manitoba Metis Federation president David Chartrand said the legislation must move forward, as Canada deals with ongoing threats from U.S. President Donald Trump. "There's not a doubt it must arrive, because the danger that Trump imposes on all of us is very scary ... this is an economic war, and people should not take it lightly," he said Wednesday.
