Winds of change
Spirit of co-operation lifts hopes for Mi’kmaq renewable energy
HALIFAX — A new spirit of co-operation has raised hopes for Mi’kmaq renewable energy projects in Nova Scotia.
In the past, the government or businesses would sometimes go through the motions when consulting with the Mi’kmaq people on issues that concerned them.
That’s not the case when it comes to renewable energy, said Eric Christmas, the Mi’kmaq energy adviser for Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiation Office, also known as the Mi’kmaq Rights Initiative.
“It’s not that they’re just ticking off a box,” Christmas said Wednesday during a Mi’kmaq renewable energy conference. “We’re seeing that there’s a real business case to be made here.”
Christmas, who hails from Membertou, said companies are recognizing the value of having the Mi’kmaq as partners, and getting them involved as soon as possible in their plans.
Companies are better off financially, too, by having the Mi’kmaq as part of their projects rather than at the other side of the negotiating table, Christmas said.
Much of the new spirit of co-operation can be attributed to Nova Scotia’s Renewable Electricity Plan and the efforts of Premier Darrell Dexter, who is also Aboriginal Affairs minister.
“He has been really forthcoming. He believes in creating a better, cleaner world,” said Christmas, who also pointed to the watershed moment in Nova Scotia-Mi’kmaq relations.
“It all began when former premier John Savage made that very bold statement when he said that the province and the Mi’kmaq would work together nation to nation,” Christmas said. “That was a huge deal for us.”
Bruce Cameron, the executive director of sustainable and renewable energy for the Nova Scotia Department of Energy, said the province’s community feed-in tariff was designed to make sure Mi’kmaq communities could participate in renewable energy projects.
“We’re really committed to supporting Mi’kmaq economic opportunities in the province,” Cameron said. “Not only does it make sure they will have their rights protected, but also that we will ensure that the Mi’kmaq community participates in those projects as direct investors or suppliers.”
The province’s renewable electricity plan came out at about the same time as the Mi’kmaq strategy. Both form a strong foundation for future economic development and work hand-in-hand.
“It’s a great success story for how co-operation can work,” Cameron said.
Christmas agreed with the impact of the two strategies. “They’re not just documents sitting on a shelf,” he said.
The Mi’kmaq strategy is based on “kwe-so’tmu’kw” which means “we are carefully taking care of it.”
“It doesn’t mean that we’re not going to use it,” Christmas said. “We want to have revenues, incomes and jobs, but we must care for the resource as we’re using it.”
Eskasoni just had a project approved and Membertou has a four- to six-megawatt wind project in the approval process, Christmas said. The goal is to keep moving forward with projects and have them owned by all 13 First Nations communities in Nova Scotia. Christmas said they will provide significant opportunity to provide a sustainable base of income and opportunities for young Mi’kmaq.