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Key points from a speech by Alliance CEO Karen Ogen to the Indigenous Partnerships Success Showcase event in Vancouver on 05 June 2024:
To know where we are going today, I want to briefly step back to remember where we came from:
The Indigenous Energy Gap
From the time our lands became industrialized in the 1800s, First Nations experienced a growing energy gap.
We did not have the capital, land base, infrastructure, technical capacity or jurisdiction to access the energy to build our economies and grow our communities.
Whether it was coal in the 1800s, oil in the 1940s, or hydroelectric dams and natural gas in the decades that followed, all of that energy produced wealth while First Nations were left with a diminished land base and little or no benefit. We had little or no say.
This reality unites First Nations from Treaty 8, throughout the Interior of B.C., and to the south and north coast. We were all left out and left in poverty. Not just denied the benefits of BC’s energy development, but denied the energy of participating in the opportunity, and denied consultation as our communities were deeply impacted.
Indigenous leaders did not accept this and fought hard to have Rights & Title recognized.
These rights were won through persistence and determination.
Today’s leaders advocate from the shoulders of previous generations that had the foresight to fight for our legal rights, against the wind, when the outcome of that struggle was very uncertain.
We are finally at the table with more control over our destiny, but more work to do to close the gap.
First Nations Participation
LNG has been a unique opportunity for First Nations.
First Nations have acquired the resources to negotiate, advocate, and write ourselves into the story on the largest industrial projects in Canadian history.
Industry recognized that there was no pathway to LNG without meaningful First Nations participation.
What does increased First Nations participation really mean?
Over the past decade, new avenues for First Nations participation have emerged:
- Sharing revenue
- Significant procurement opportunities
- Jobs & training opportunities
- Meaningful Consultation
- Research
- Indigenous-led, consent-based Environmental Assessment processes
- And ownership – as equity partners in pipelines, and majority owners in projects
Now, governments are finally recognizing that First Nations, who want to invest in their own opportunities, should be supported with financing tools.
B.C.’s $1-billion First Nations Equity Financing Framework was announced in the February budget. It is a welcome step. I call it a step because I believe the appetite for First Nations equity financing will ultimately outstrip that initial commitment.
The federal government brought forward a $5-billion national equity financing framework this spring as well.
I acknowledge and thank First Nations leaders that have fought tenaciously for these financing tools. It has been a collective effort.
A pan-Indigenous approach
The LNG industry has made a lot of progress in the past 10 to 15 years. We should all be proud that the largest private-sector investment in Canadian history – the combined LNG Canada and Coastal GasLink projects – is almost complete. A first cargo is expected to be shipped in the next year.
Every cargo shipped represents revenue and opportunity for participating First Nations, communities, and all B.C. residents. It will pay for nurses and doctors and teachers, and will help strengthen First Nations communities and help us on our journey to eradicate poverty.
But we also know that the first wave of LNG was not what it could have been. We in Canada have a lot more to learn about being competitive as our LNG opportunity went south.
For First Nations, the development of the industry so far has been in silos – with a different conversation happening in the upstream, the midstream, and the downstream.
We need to bring those conversations together.
First Nations have a lot to learn from each other, and industry has more to learn from First Nations.
The Indigenous story on LNG is strong, and by working more closely together, we can show an even more compelling story to British Columbians and Canadians about the benefits of Indigenous participation.
Owning our Future
LNG provides us with an opportunity where we can own our future.
There is a global need for Canadian LNG. And there is no Canadian LNG unless it’s Indigenous LNG. Indigenous people will be at the heart of it.
What does Indigenous LNG look like?
- Indigenous-led, owned, and/or partnered
- Global-leading environmental standards
- Sharing the benefits fairly
- Respecting UNDRIP principles
We need access to capital, through loan guarantees and other measures that allow us to own our own future
First Nations are writing the roadmap to clean energy prosperity, a roadmap to owning our future.
For Indigenous communities, the outcomes of building Canadian LNG are tangible and essential: Jobs, training, and Indigenous-owned businesses, own-source revenues to fund clean drinking water, housing and economic opportunities, and more.
I say to industry and government: We have come a long way on our journey, but we need you to take it to the next level in closing the gap.
Industry – I see a day when First Nations in B.C. are doing far more than monitoring, running workforce lodges, clearing land, and collecting revenues from benefit agreements.
I see our current generation of young people in management, directing major projects, and in executive roles. I know that many in industry believe in and share that vision, but we must work even harder to make that a reality.
And I see ownership. It’s happening now, and we want to see more of it. We are invested when we are invested.
Government – I don’t doubt the sincerity of governments when it comes to the idea of reconciliation, but Canada and B.C. have not fully embraced the opportunity that LNG represents for First Nations, and for our allies globally.
In fact, governments are focusing almost exclusively on emissions reduction while lacking a clear focus on helping generate economic benefits for Indigenous people and communities, particularly rural and remote.
A confident Canada and BC would be embracing Indigenous LNG and establishing our industry as a global leader, with the lowest emission natural gas to offer.
The direct route for low-carbon Canadian LNG to Asia is through Canada, not through the U.S. to the Gulf Coast – but from Treaty 8 to the Coast.
We can close the Indigenous energy gap.
Canadian LNG is Indigenous LNG, and we will continue to advocate strongly.
Resource Works study
Therefore, today, I’m pleased to announced that the First Nations LNG Alliance is co-publishing a report with Resource Works on the economic impacts of natural gas exports.
This study will add to the large body of evidence that shows the economic benefits of LNG to B.C., Canada, and to Indigenous people.
(Posted here 05 June 2024)
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