Kitamaat Village, the home community of the Haisla Nation, in B.C. in February, 2020.Jimmy Jeong/www.jimmyshoots.com
Crystal Smith is the former elected chief councillor of Haisla First Nation. Susannah Pierce is the former president and country chair of Shell Canada Ltd.
There’s little question that accelerating energy development would bring much-needed investment to create jobs and long-term prosperity to Canada – and even less doubt that Canada has the resources to be both a conventional and a clean energy superpower. The various nation-building laws recently enacted to speed up infrastructure building, from Ottawa’s Bill C-5 to B.C.’s Bill 15, have plenty to work with, from world-leading oil and gas industries to a significant supply of the rare-earth and critical minerals essential for the transition to renewable energy.
But this isn’t new. As two people intimately involved in developing two of Canada’s biggest energy projects over the last decade, we feel that amid the public discourse about the infrastructure bills, Canadians may not recognize that successful partnerships on major projects have been happening for some time, well before threats from below the border took centre stage.
Haisla Nation and Pembina forge ahead with Indigenous-led Cedar LNG project in northern B.C.
Many Indigenous leaders have expressed concern that these bills do not go far enough to protect hard-fought Indigenous rights and title. The evidence, in their view, is the lack of pre-engagement that has taken place with Indigenous groups as the acts were being written.
But none of the recent successful infrastructure projects that have been or are being built in Canada would have happened without engagement based on mutual respect. That has required a sincere commitment to collaborate on project design, as well as a willingness to offer both a share and a say – finding ways to truly invite other voices to the conversation and to share value with Indigenous communities, in whatever way those communities find most meaningful, from equity sharing to majority ownership.
From the private-sector perspective, understanding Indigenous interests and the need for partnership has been a fundamental part of successful project development in Canada, and it must continue to be. Canada’s lost decade of investment can be attributed to many things, but failing to truly engage with Indigenous communities and understand their interests is one of the most significant factors.
From Indigenous peoples’ perspective, understanding the relevant industry, including an investment’s need to be competitive, along with understanding the potential of a project to deliver economic prosperity that is consistent with individual community values is also fundamental. Forgoing the opportunity to understand project risk and benefits and participate in meaningful ways that can transform communities is something that should not be dismissed out of hand.
While concerns around Bill C-5 and Bill 15 are understandable, this moment presents a valuable opportunity to lean in and strengthen partnerships with Indigenous communities. These bills have brought renewed focus to the critical role that Indigenous Nations can and should play in shaping Canada’s infrastructure and energy future. This is a timely opportunity to work together to establish clear, consistent frameworks that uphold Indigenous rights, support meaningful leadership roles, and promote inclusive economic growth. By engaging Indigenous communities early and respectfully, government and industry partners can help ensure that future projects are not only successful, but also sustainable and equitable – grounded in shared interests, mutual respect and long-term value for all parties involved.
When the LNG opportunity came to the Haisla Nation territory, a streamlined regulatory process would have been welcome, but it wasn’t legislation that forced the parties together to drive our LNG projects forward. It was an unwavering commitment at the highest levels of leadership in LNG Canada and the Haisla First Nation, supported by government, to create shared value where all parties felt the risks and rewards of investment would be fairly and equitably distributed.
Together, private-sector proponents and Indigenous groups participated in early project siting, design, environmental, work force development and commercial discussions, to name just a few processes. These efforts didn’t just lead to the LNG Canada project; the Cedar LNG project was born, too, and it is now the largest Indigenous majority-owned LNG facility in the world. This project would not have happened without early engagement about what the Haisla Nation truly wanted: a share and a say. In our view, this is a recipe for future Indigenous-owned enterprises.
Of course, despite the consultation and overall alignment, there were still significant challenges and hurdles around the development of these two projects. But the early commitments and the cultivation of trust-based relationships enabled the projects to weather the storms.
There is no question that legislation to advance projects will be helpful, but those efforts will be insufficient without this kind of strong commitment and partnership, as demonstrated by the successful launch of the Canadian LNG industry in the Haisla Nation territory.