The Ripple Effect Newsletter
October 2009
For the past 2 years I have been fortunate to have dozens of articles published in newspapers, magazines and journals all across Canada including Mexico, Australia and Europe. Some of these articles are posted on our website should you wish to read them. Letters to the various publication editors have been very positive and supportive of my comments and points of view. A common theme in the many e-mails I receive is that the reader is just amazed and acknowledge that they have never heard of this information before. Most are disturbed that all this information about aboriginal people and their circumstances is unknown, was never taught to them and seems to be some kind of state secret. They don’t even known what words to use to search the Internet to find this information even if they tried. This is why we continue to inform and enlighten our readership with the support of dozens of publishers and editors. A very special thank you goes out to George Lee of “The PEGG” newspaper of The Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta, Troy Media, Oilsands Review, The Canadian Association of Geophysical Contractors, the Canadian Human Resource Association of Canada and many others.
Although our facilitated workshops are popular, in demand and very well accepted, regularly reaching out to larger numbers of interested citizens is always a challenge. As a result we have developed our Online Aboriginal Awareness Training Program so our information can be accessed by anyone with access to a computer. Over the past few months dozens of people from across Canada have thoroughly reviewed our training program in detail and offered their insights, critiques, suggestions, recommendations, links and additional information. Our team has been implementing, tweaking and refining our program to make this the very best training program of its kind. We have revised our pricing structure based on volume of users within any organization and access by individuals. These user fees are now posted on our website.
My sincere compliments to Carlton University, De Beers Canada, Ledcor Group of Companies, Connacher Oil & Gas, AMEC, Canada Revenue Agency, Aboriginal Elders, Aboriginal organizations and individuals, BHP Billiton, Hewlett-Packard/EDS, City of Edmonton, Calgary Board of Education, Phoscan, Parks Canada, Schlumberger, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, RBC Financial Group and so many more we cannot mention. Suffice to say these organizations have contributed immensely to the quality and detail of our training program and we are very grateful for all the time and effort dedicated to this important initiative.
We will officially launch the program this month and are “OPEN” for business as we continually upgrade and improve our product. You enquiries are most welcome.
Most Sincerely,
Robert Laboucane
Story 1
New Relationship Trust: Report on Best Practices in Comprehensive Community Planning for First Nations
The New Relationship Trust (NRT) today released two reports – Gaining Momentum: Sharing 96 Best Practices of First Nations Comprehensive Community Planning, and the shorter version of the report, Gaining Momentum: Sharing 50 Best Practices of First Nations Comprehensive Community Planning. The reports provide ideas on how First Nations can approach comprehensive community planning (CCP) by drawing on research and experience from the author and First Nations that have been through the CCP process.
The two CCP reports written by Jeff Cook of Beringia Community Planning Inc were commissioned by NRT to provide an overview of the methods and systems used by First Nations as they went through the CCP process so that other First Nations may also determine their strategic community plans based on community values and priorities.
“The purpose of the comprehensive community planning reports is to provide First Nations with a resource to help them through the complexity of an all-encompassing project,” stated NRT General Manager, Chanze Gamble. “When we consider what a comprehensive plan entails - education, health, Elder and youth involvement and how this ensures the transfer of cultural knowledge, economic development, how to build a strong governance system supported by sound leadership practices, and of course how we assert our inherent rights to our land – this can become a daunting task. We hope these reports will help support First Nations through that process.”
“I would like to thank the many First Nations who made this rich learning experience possible,” states Jeff Cook of Beringia. “It has been an honour to speak with First Nations and community planners from across Canada about their CCP experience, and to be able share this knowledge as best practices with a wider planning community. These best practices are an important contribution towards understanding and celebrating First Nations planning practice, which we hope will encourage others and inspire action.”
NRT is a not-for-profit organization that supports First Nation communities in British Columbia in their efforts to build capacity in order to become healthy, prosperous and self-sufficient.
The Gaining Momentum: Sharing 96 Best Practices of First Nations Comprehensive Community Planning, and the shorter version, Gaining Momentum: Sharing 50 Best Practices of First Nations Comprehensive Community Planning reports are the fourth of a five part best practice report series commissioned by NRT to be released in the fall of 2009. The other four First Nations best practices reports include:
- Consultation and Accommodation
- Governance (previously released)
- Environmental Assessment (previously released)
- Land Use Planning (previously released)
For more information:
Chanze Gamble
General Manager, NRT
Tel: 604-925-3338 or 1-800-922-3338
Email: cgamble[at]nrtf.ca
Website: www.newrelationshiptrust.ca
Story 2
UBCIC Open Letter: Implementing the New Relationship and the Legislative Initiative
July 30, 2009
Dear Premier Campbell and Ministers,
We are writing to clarify the UBCIC’s (Union of BC Indian Chiefs) position regarding pursuing Recognition and Reconciliation Legislation based on the Discussion Paper on Implementing the New Relationship (the “discussion paper”).
The UBCIC has fought long and hard for the recognition by the Crown of Aboriginal title in British Columbia, and for respect for our laws and governments. The New Relationship is regarded as a good step in the right direction, and our communities watched and waited with much hope, for the implementation of the Vision. To our bitter disappointment, the Province failed to implement the spirit and intent of the New Relationship. By way of examples, notwithstanding the decisions of the Court, including the Huu-ay-aht case, where the Court found that the revenue and benefit sharing formula for the FRAs/FROs constituted bad faith negotiations, the Province refused to even discuss revenue and benefit sharing for forestry agreements on any other basis. Nor has the Province been prepared to discuss the sharing of a percentage of gaming revenue as an example of a commitment to revenue sharing to accommodate the economic component of title. There has been no implementation of the jurisdictional component of title, either. The present Environmental Assessment Review Process is the most blatant example of unilateral Crown decision making which is used to veto our Aboriginal title and rights interests as big projects are permitted to proceed, over our objections and often to the detriment of the land itself. The Province continues to rely on discredited terra nullius theories in litigation defences – such as in the Jules and Wilson litigation, where the Province pleads that the Browns Creek Watersheds are vacant Crown land.
When the conduct of the Province did not produce concrete and far-reaching change on the ground, the UBCIC supported legislative change as a tool to bring about systemic change in Provincial Crown conduct from denial to title recognition. This led to the discussion paper.
The discussion paper has been brought to our members for discussion, and we have had considerable feedback at Regional Forums, community meetings, and at meetings held by the UBCIC. The response from our members is clear: there are concerns about concepts in the discussion paper, and UBCIC members do not support legislative drafting based on it. This point was made most emphatically at the last Chiefs Council meeting. A resolution, designed to improve the process for First Nations’ review and debate of any proposed legislation was defeated, based on a debate which was in opposition to the discussion paper initiative. The Chiefs stated that the process which led to the discussion paper and which was proposed for legislative drafting was not sufficiently inclusive.
The UBCIC has now made clear to our members, and we wish to make it clear to you and to your Government, that the UBCIC has withdrawn from the legislative initiative based on the discussion paper. We will continue to attend the Regional Forums and other community meetings as observers, to witness and listen to the concerns of the community membership and leaders. UBCIC also continues to support the spirit and intent of the Leadership Accord, and all other initiatives attached to this collective effort, including the Forestry Council, Fisheries Council, Economic Development Council, Energy and Mining Council, Children and Family Wellness Council and Health Council.
We will now consider all options for the implementation of the New Relationship at the upcoming All Chiefs forum in August, and the UBCIC General Assembly scheduled for mid-September. Make no mistake; the UBCIC shall continue to utilize all means to achieve a just resolution of the Land Question in B.C.
Over the summer, we ask you to consider solutions so that we might have success in our future conversations. The problem which has been expressed many times in discussions about the discussion paper is a widespread distrust of the Province. This has been said a number of ways – but what is disturbing, even enraging, to those who raise this concern, is the Province’s inability or unwillingness to substantively change from status quo behaviour, especially since 2005. First Nation leaders point out correctly that while there are systemic shifts that might best be achieved through legislation, legislation is not needed for the Province to change its conduct, by providing different honourable recognition-based negotiation and litigation mandates consistent with the New Relationship Vision and decisions of the Courts. Outdated Provincial denial policies can give way today, to the policy expressed in the New Relationship. Engaging in discussions with the FNLC is not a substitute or reason for the Province to delay. New opportunities for reconciliation must emerge. First Nations are waiting for the Province to engage with them respecting Aboriginal title, including our laws and jurisdictions, sharing lands and resources and revenue and benefits derived from our lands and resources, and addressing past and ongoing interferences. The Province should have taken such actions a century ago, and there is no honourable basis for not doing so today.
Sincerely,
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip
President
Story 3
Mineral Explorers Launch Aboriginal Engagement Toolkit through Redesigned Website
Vancouver, BC – July 17 2009 – The Association for Mineral Exploration BC (AME BC) has launched a groundbreaking Aboriginal engagement toolkit as part of its redesigned website at www.amebc.ca. The toolkit was also launched as a DVD. Both are available to members of AME BC, which represents thousands of people involved in the search for mineral deposits both in British Columbia and around the world.
“Our members told us they need practical tools to understand and implement effective practices in Aboriginal engagement,” said Gavin C. Dirom, President and CEO of AME BC. “In this toolkit, our members will find templates and samples of required materials, as well as context to the current political, social and cultural environments in which they may be working,” said Laureen Whyte, Vice-President of AME BC, and a co-author of the toolkit. Ultimately, the toolkit has been designed to help facilitate dialogue based on mutual understanding and respect, and a commitment to honest and transparent communication.”
“As an industry, we know that each project is unique, and each community, Aboriginal or non-aboriginal, has different expectations for communication and engagement,” said Whyte. “We believe this toolkit is a step in the right direction and will be a useful tool to help the industry build effective working relationships with First Nations and Aboriginal people.”
In addition to the toolkit, enhancements to www.amebc.ca include the following:
•Improved website design and navigation
•Interactive member directory
•Ability to join AME BC and update membership information online
•Ability to update member information
“We are very pleased to launch both the Aboriginal engagement toolkit and our new website simultaneously,” said Dirom. “We have been a membership-driven organization for 97 years. The website presents new opportunities to engage with our members and provide resources for BC’s world-class mineral exploration community.”
About AME BC:
AME BC represents thousands of members including geoscientists, prospectors, engineers, entrepreneurs, exploration companies, suppliers, mineral producers, and associations who are engaged in mineral exploration in BC and throughout the world. Through leadership, partnerships, and advocacy, AME BC promotes a healthy environment and business climate for the mineral exploration industry. AME BC is the predominant voice of mineral exploration in British Columbia.
For more information contact:
Byng Giraud
Senior Director, Policy & Communications
AME BC
778-233-6449
byng@amebc.ca
Story 4
Haida Nation says no way to oil tanker traffic
Queen Charlotte Island Observer
September 02, 2009
Alex Rinfret
Plans by a Calgary company to pipe crude oil to Kitimat, allowing it to be shipped through north coast waters, are "ludicrous" and "unbelievable", and will never be allowed to happen, says Haida Nation president Guujaaw.
Speaking to two top executives from Enbridge Inc. at a public gathering in Skidegate Friday (Aug. 28), Guujaaw said the project would put the entire Haida way of life at risk for nothing more than the chance for investors and company officials to make money.
Guujaaw said islanders learned first-hand from Prince William Sound people who visited Haida Gwaii earlier this year what happens when an oil spill contaminates the ocean and coastline.
“Those people lost their traditional ways, lost their access to food,” he said, following the crash of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker in 1989, the effects of which are still being felt.
Guujaaw said no one should believe company promises that an oil spill would be immediately contained and that compensation would be paid for any environmental damage.
The Alaskan people are still waiting for compensation, he said. And it would be impossible to move fast enough to contain a spill in the isolated and storm-prone north coast waters.
Guujaaw said the two executives who traveled to Skidegate to hear from the Haida, Enbridge president Pat Daniel and Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines president John Carruthers, seem like nice guys, but they are also “monsters” whose goal is to get the pipeline built and make money, no matter how that could affect the future of the Haida Nation.
“It is unbelievable what these people will calmly get up here and propose to us,” he told the audience of elders, chiefs and other islanders. “They themselves would risk nothing in doing this, they have nothing to lose.”
Guujaaw called the Alberta tar sands, where the oil would be coming from, “one of the biggest unnatural disasters going on in the world right now,” and said it’s “crazy. a goofy idea” to ship oil from Alberta to southeast Asia at the same time that Canada is importing oil.
He ended by telling Mr. Carruthers and Mr. Daniel that the Haida Nation will not put its land and waters at risk for this project or anything else.
“I’m not going to say we’ll be affected, because there is no damn way this is going to happen,” he said.
Mr. Daniel, who according to the Financial Post took home compensation of $6.5-million last year, and Mr. Carruthers started the gathering with a brief explanation of the pipeline project. They said they had come to Haida Gwaii because of the Living Oceans Society, which had urged them to listen to the people who would be directly affected by north coast tanker traffic.
Mr. Daniel said Enbridge is in the oil delivery business. The company operates crude oil pipelines and natural gas pipelines, including the longest oil pipeline in the world. The reason Enbridge wants to build a pipeline from Edmonton to Kitimat is that it would allow Alberta oil producers to sell to a whole new market in Southeast Asia, rather than being limited to the United States.
Mr. Carruthers said the project would see 14 tanks built beside Kitimat’s deep harbour to store crude oil. Tankers would load the oil then take it to the Southeast Asia or anywhere else the producers could sell it.
“We envision 225 tankers coming in each year,” he said. These vessels would be various sizes, ranging from cruise ship size to supertanker.
The project must undergo two public regulatory processes before it goes ahead, one through the National Energy Board, and one through the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.
“We will make sure this is as safe a project as you can get,” Mr. Carruthers said. “We need to make sure the project is safe and that people benefit.”
But elder after elder told the two men that there is no way anyone could guarantee that hundreds of tankers loaded with crude oil would never have an accident, and that just one spill could end all traditional food gathering on Haida Gwaii.
“What we’re talking about today doesn’t feel good inside,” said Diane Brown. “To lose our food source is not an option, you can’t pay us anything to get that back. As a grandmother and a woman of the nation, I can promise you that I will do everything in my power not to see this go through.”
Reynold Russ, Chief Iljuwaas, said he heard many people speak against the pipeline project when he was at the elders gathering in Terrace this summer. The people from Prince William Sound were also promised that there would be no oil spills, he said.
“It was supposed to be accident-free and yet how many tons of crude oil was dumped?” he said, adding that the Enbridge officials should have visited the islands to hear the opposition before they ever proposed this project.
“Haida Gwaii is our island, our land, we own it, lock stock and barrel,” Chief Iljuwaas said. “We don’t want money.”
Story 5
Enbridge Pipelines Inc. Donates $75,000 To Metis Learning In Alberta 
Sept. 17, 2009 - Enbridge Pipelines Inc. has become the first corporation in Alberta to contribute to the Belcourt Brosseau Metis Awards with a $75,000 donation. The donation to Edmonton Community Foundation will go to an endowed fund which provides financial support to Metis students from across Alberta in any post-secondary educational or vocational program.
"The Belcourt Brosseau Metis Awards is a well respected and well run program", said Lyle Neis, Manager of Projects-Aboriginal Affairs. "Enbridge wants to support Metis learners from all over the province and the Belcourt Brosseau fund is an excellent way to do that".
On behalf of the Belcourt Brosseau Metis Awards, Edmonton Community Foundation will distribute $480,000 to 117 students in support of their studies during the upcoming school year. A cultural celebration of recipients will be held on September 19, 2009 at the Marriott Edmonton at River Cree in the Enoch Grand Ballroom @ 4pm.
"Enbridge's contribution will help Metis Albertans achieve their educational dreams and we very much appreciate their leadership in corporate Alberta," says Martin Garber-Conrad, CEO of Edmonton Community Foundation.
Timing is critical as the need for financial support is growing faster than the existing fund can sustain, which speaks to the educational appetite of the fastest growing population segment in Alberta. Partnerships will help ensure Metis Albertans have the opportunity to continue learning and provide an educated work force to meet the needs of Alberta's labour market.
The Belcourt Brosseau Metis Awards Fund was established in 2001 from a donation from Canative Housing Corporation. To date, the awards have provided over $3 million to more than 500 recipients. For more information visit www.bbma.ca
Enbridge Pipelines Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Enbridge Inc., which operates, in Canada and the United States, the world's longest crude oil and liquids pipeline system. Enbridge Inc., a Canadian company, is a leader in energy transportation and distribution in North America and internationally. For more information visit www.enbridge.com
Media, videographers and photographers are welcome to attend the celebration on September 19. Please contact Theresa Majeran for accreditation.
For more information, please contact
Belcourt Brosseau Metis Awards
Theresa Majeran
Communications Coordinator
(780) 977-5515
communications[at]bbma.ca
or
Enbridge Pipelines Inc.
Danielle Bertsch
Sr. Advisor
(403) 718-3454
daniella.bertsch[at]enbridge.com
