Indigenous business leader Blaine Favel once said: “Reconciliation means that indigenous people should not be the poorest people in lands that belong to us.”.Basically, First Nations lost out on so much in economic development in Canada’s history, the point is to rectify this situation by giving them tools to succeed in the modern economy..Indigenous economic reconciliation is all the rage amongst the political class and within the so-called chattering classes, so one would think the federal government would adopt the idea in its policies moving forward..Looking at the federal government’s ironically-named ‘Just Transition,’ one would assume wrong..For many indigenous communities — especially in the Western provinces — engagement with the energy sector has been a major game changer. Major pipeline projects as well as LNG projects allowed First Nation and Metis communities to be equal partners in many cases, something unheard of only a few decades ago. Lives have literally been changed for the better with impact benefit agreements from major energy companies. Energy industry jobs are some of the highest-paid private sector jobs available..Enter the so-called Just Transition and the discovery by Blacklock's Reporter of an 81-page set of briefing notes on the website of Natural Resources Canada, explaining its impact across the country. Government spokespeople were already prepping themselves for the inevitable questions about how the transition would impact thousands of workers in Alberta and elsewhere. Here were the answers: the news massive dislocation was likely not only in the energy sector, but in other related industries sent shockwaves throughout the West and led the federal government to do major damage control..Here is what people need to wrap their heads around, though: If the federal government’s so-called ‘Just Transition’ will cause massive unemployment and dislocation for mainstream Canada, how much more will it affect First Nation communities? Make no mistake, the federal government’s so-called ‘Just Transition’ will cut off a major pathway for First Nations to escape poverty. This is all the more tragic because First Nation communities are really only now realizing how new equity partnership arrangements are the key to not only overcoming poverty, but creating sustainable multi-generational wealth. It also allows them to flex their self-determination muscles..Let’s consider the impacts..These are 2016-2017 numbers from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. They say Canada’s indigenous peoples are a good chunk of the national upstream oil and natural gas industry. Back then, there were almost 12,000 workers in the industry identifying as indigenous. At that time, through various arrangements, conventional and natural gas activity was generating about $55 million for indigenous governments to spend on indigenous priorities. To meet procurement targets, energy companies had spent about $3.3 billion on indigenous-owned companies to service the industry. Finally, indigenous governments spent $48.6 million in community investments from oil sands producers..So, one can see that significant cutbacks and downsizing as envisioned by the government’s transition plan would have catastrophic effects on First Nation communities..To top it all off, unlike mainstream communities, First Nations only have their proximity to resource projects to rely on, given their remote locations. More resources left in the ground means indigenous contractors who supply various services to energy producers would be left idle and unused. But these are not just numbers and statistics. These are people who are banking on high-paying jobs to escape generational poverty, addictions, and social assistance dependency. Many of these projects bring benefit agreements that include education and training, so it is a hope for a better life for themselves and their children..This would be a major setback for communities hoping to move from poverty to prosperity..Alberta and Saskatchewan are not alone in their claim that they were not consulted over these revolutionary changes. Dale Swampy — head of the National Coalition of Chiefs — stated he learned of the government’s plans through media reports. Is that any way to treat constitutional rights holders?.Indigenous communities could have seen this coming. For years, Ottawa has only invested in, or given attention to, First Nations that promoted renewable or so-called clean energy projects. When it came to federal supports, they only targeted projects they preferred. They ignored First Nations interested in fossil fuel projects. For this government, their environmentalist agenda and virtue signalling come above indigenous economic aspirations..Swampy also mentioned how higher energy and utility charges from this ‘Just Transition’ will also hit First Nation families on reserve the hardest..This is not the first time Ottawa claimed it wants to bring in a new era of consultation and respect for indigenous communities and then left them in the dark on major changes that affect them..Think back to 2018 when the government was discussing cannabis legalization and only spoke to the provinces..This shows the federal government is not really serious about indigenous economic reconciliation. First Nations are once again being denied basic tools to improve their condition..Forget the Alberta Sovereignty Act or the Saskatchewan First Act. Indigenous leaders need to focus their attention on the federal government’s ‘Just Transition.’ That is the true threat to their communities.
Indigenous business leader Blaine Favel once said: “Reconciliation means that indigenous people should not be the poorest people in lands that belong to us.”.Basically, First Nations lost out on so much in economic development in Canada’s history, the point is to rectify this situation by giving them tools to succeed in the modern economy..Indigenous economic reconciliation is all the rage amongst the political class and within the so-called chattering classes, so one would think the federal government would adopt the idea in its policies moving forward..Looking at the federal government’s ironically-named ‘Just Transition,’ one would assume wrong..For many indigenous communities — especially in the Western provinces — engagement with the energy sector has been a major game changer. Major pipeline projects as well as LNG projects allowed First Nation and Metis communities to be equal partners in many cases, something unheard of only a few decades ago. Lives have literally been changed for the better with impact benefit agreements from major energy companies. Energy industry jobs are some of the highest-paid private sector jobs available..Enter the so-called Just Transition and the discovery by Blacklock's Reporter of an 81-page set of briefing notes on the website of Natural Resources Canada, explaining its impact across the country. Government spokespeople were already prepping themselves for the inevitable questions about how the transition would impact thousands of workers in Alberta and elsewhere. Here were the answers: the news massive dislocation was likely not only in the energy sector, but in other related industries sent shockwaves throughout the West and led the federal government to do major damage control..Here is what people need to wrap their heads around, though: If the federal government’s so-called ‘Just Transition’ will cause massive unemployment and dislocation for mainstream Canada, how much more will it affect First Nation communities? Make no mistake, the federal government’s so-called ‘Just Transition’ will cut off a major pathway for First Nations to escape poverty. This is all the more tragic because First Nation communities are really only now realizing how new equity partnership arrangements are the key to not only overcoming poverty, but creating sustainable multi-generational wealth. It also allows them to flex their self-determination muscles..Let’s consider the impacts..These are 2016-2017 numbers from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. They say Canada’s indigenous peoples are a good chunk of the national upstream oil and natural gas industry. Back then, there were almost 12,000 workers in the industry identifying as indigenous. At that time, through various arrangements, conventional and natural gas activity was generating about $55 million for indigenous governments to spend on indigenous priorities. To meet procurement targets, energy companies had spent about $3.3 billion on indigenous-owned companies to service the industry. Finally, indigenous governments spent $48.6 million in community investments from oil sands producers..So, one can see that significant cutbacks and downsizing as envisioned by the government’s transition plan would have catastrophic effects on First Nation communities..To top it all off, unlike mainstream communities, First Nations only have their proximity to resource projects to rely on, given their remote locations. More resources left in the ground means indigenous contractors who supply various services to energy producers would be left idle and unused. But these are not just numbers and statistics. These are people who are banking on high-paying jobs to escape generational poverty, addictions, and social assistance dependency. Many of these projects bring benefit agreements that include education and training, so it is a hope for a better life for themselves and their children..This would be a major setback for communities hoping to move from poverty to prosperity..Alberta and Saskatchewan are not alone in their claim that they were not consulted over these revolutionary changes. Dale Swampy — head of the National Coalition of Chiefs — stated he learned of the government’s plans through media reports. Is that any way to treat constitutional rights holders?.Indigenous communities could have seen this coming. For years, Ottawa has only invested in, or given attention to, First Nations that promoted renewable or so-called clean energy projects. When it came to federal supports, they only targeted projects they preferred. They ignored First Nations interested in fossil fuel projects. For this government, their environmentalist agenda and virtue signalling come above indigenous economic aspirations..Swampy also mentioned how higher energy and utility charges from this ‘Just Transition’ will also hit First Nation families on reserve the hardest..This is not the first time Ottawa claimed it wants to bring in a new era of consultation and respect for indigenous communities and then left them in the dark on major changes that affect them..Think back to 2018 when the government was discussing cannabis legalization and only spoke to the provinces..This shows the federal government is not really serious about indigenous economic reconciliation. First Nations are once again being denied basic tools to improve their condition..Forget the Alberta Sovereignty Act or the Saskatchewan First Act. Indigenous leaders need to focus their attention on the federal government’s ‘Just Transition.’ That is the true threat to their communities.
