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IPP boom's impact on Douglas First Nation

Chief and band manager speak at Pemberton chamber luncheon about their eight run-of-river projects

In Pemberton these days there is little ambivalence about independent power projects (IPPs) and a considerable number of polarizing positions vying for public support.

Two projects in particular have captured debate: the Upper Lillooet run-of-river project of Innergex, which is now seeking final approvals from the provincial government and the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District before full construction can begin, and the Village of Pemberton's foray into discovering if residents have the appetite for a smaller run-of-river community project on Pemberton Creek within the village's boundaries.

With a mind to finding out how already established projects have impacted communities, the local chamber of commerce invited Chief Don Harris of the Douglas First Nation and band manager Lyle Leo to speak at their luncheon at the Pemberton Museum on Sept. 19.

"Obviously there has been a lot of talk lately about independent power projects and the effect on our community and this will be a great education for some people... or a chance to hear some firsthand facts," David Mackenzie, vice chair of the Pemberton Chamber of Commerce, said when introducing Harris and Leo.

Thirty chamber members of the Pemberton Chamber of Commerce listened as the pair talked for half an hour about how their own experience with IPPs on band territory has changed things.

One of the reasons the chief said he wanted to talk to the chamber was in recognition of the amount of spending Douglas First Nation did in Pemberton on services and supplies. He said local businessowners suggested he make the presentation.

Forty people currently live onsite at the Douglas Nation community of Tipella, on the northern shores of Harrison Lake. Around 200 from the community have moved elsewhere for a number of reasons, including work or education opportunities.

The community is two hours down logging roads from Pemberton.

One of the aims of coming to the agreement that led to the original creation of six small IPPs in their territory was to establish an infrastructure that would be attractive to band members and encourage them to return, Harris said.

"We engaged the developer in 2002. We had sat down with them a few years prior to that, but 2002 was when we began hammering out some agreements and moving forward building some projects," he said.

The six projects built in 2006 and 2007 are 50 per cent owned by Innergex. They include Douglas Creek (27MW), Tipella Creek (18MW), Stokke Creek (22MW), Fire Creek (23MW), Upper Stave River Creek (33MW) and Lamont Creek (27MW).

The Tipella Creek and Douglas Creek projects will transfer to Nation ownership when the current agreement expires.

The seventh project in Douglas Nation territory will be operational this fall and construction starts on the eighth project in the spring of 2014.

"The environmental assessment process was a huge undertaking in addressing all the heritage and environmental leads of our area," Harris said.

The community was not on the BC Hydro grid until 2010, so connection was important to Douglas Nation negotiators, though Harris jokingly grumbled about now receiving hydro bills. The site from where diesel generators used to provide the community's electricity is now a children's playground, he added.

"And the salmon was one of our key factors with developers. We recognized that although the logging was a part of our history and a part of our livelihood, the logging in the past took the salmon out of our creeks," Harris said.

"We don't necessarily blame them for it, the process and the guidelines didn't take into consideration the protection of the fish and the wildlife of the day."

Negotiations led to 200-metre long fish channels being built, which the chief said are now active with fish life that returned on their own accord, without being brought in artificially.

Training and employment was another attraction for the Douglas Nation, Harris said, as was establishing subcontracting partnerships.

"We had a number of band members trained in heavy-duty equipment, others learned different trades. We worked the camps, electricians, mechanics... We also started establishing work ethics for the youth and creating projects, including tree planting," he said.

"Our members were not used to having work there, so there was no ethics, work habits, so we started establishing that through the youth in as many projects as we could."

While Harris explained past impacts on the community, Leo talked about future plans.

Leo said the Douglas Nation was building homes for five more families at Tipella, in the hope of increasing the number of band members returning to the community. An administration building has also been built.

Economic development for the band means transitioning into tourism over the next five years. Interestingly, the first Chinese-Canadian child was born at Port Douglas, which is now virtually a ghost town on the shores of Harrison Lake, and the Chinese-Canadian Historical Society is interested in possibly rebuilding the townfront as an attraction. The region's goldrush history is another potential draw.

"We needed to engage and negotiate for as many long-term benefits to the community as possible," Leo told chamber members.

"Our main issue today is resettlement. We have a strategy, now that we are hooked up to the hydro grid. We couldn't build more houses because the diesel generators wouldn't allow for that... We've worked really hard in the last two years in restructuring our organization and reutilizing the own-source revenues that Douglas has coming in, in order to build capacity in governance and administration."

Leo added that they were also working on a five-year community economic strategy.

"With cleaning up the financials in the last two years, we're coming out of the dark ages. In 2008 and 2009, Douglas was facing third-party management and we've cleaned up the financials so that for the first time in 15 years Douglas has been awarded (permission to build) new homes."

He added that they applied to the First Nations Financial Management Board to be a "Scheduled First Nation" under financial management legislation. Upon reviews of the past five years of financial statements, the board said they were financially stable, according to Leo, and they have now been invited to join the board.

Power project royalties are being protected through a capital revenue bylaw where 60 per cent of own-source revenue of $150,000 or more goes into a long-term investment plan with the Scotia Private Client Group, Leo said. The plan has had just over $3 million added to it in the last two years.

The remaining 40 per cent goes into governance, administration and community development, he added.

Afterwards, Mackenzie said the importance of listening to Harris and Leo came from the chamber's goals of promoting business in a vibrant community.

"The IPPs have been quite an issue for our community and we're just trying to bring people into our luncheons and provide the opportunity to learn about the projects going on. In this case, this is the importance of First Nations partnering with business and how it has economically benefitted their community, so we're looking for that feedback," he said.