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Haida Gwaii's Democracy Dilemma

Jonathan Graham

| March 3, 2010

Image by: Christoher Morris

Navigating the complications of consensus-based politics on Haida Gwaii.

It is the second day of the Haida’s annual House of Assembly, a four-day legislative session open to all 4,000 members of the Haida nation. Inside a red-roofed community hall on the Skidegate First Nations reserve on the southern end of Haida Gwaii, on a beautiful, crisp October afternoon, the atmosphere is tense. About 100 members of the Haida nation are sitting inside at tables, midway through a six-hour debate on their economic future. A middle-aged woman, her hair held with a Haida-style brooch and a red shawl hanging over her shoulders, exits the building in tears, hands shaking, swearing. Shouts and raised voices can be heard through the half-open door of the hall, its windows facing out onto the always-windy Hecate Strait. A changing cast of a dozen men and women are standing outside, dragging on cigarettes and continuing arguments from inside.

The day’s gusty breezes fit this afternoon’s debate: a proposal by Vancouver-based NaiKun Wind Energy Group Inc. to build Canada’s first offshore wind farm, one of the world’s largest, at a cost of more than $2 billion. The Haida government’s executive body, the Council of the Haida Nation (CHN) – which includes the directly elected president and vice-president, six regional representatives and two band council representatives – has agreed to give NaiKun access to a 31-square-kilometre stretch of Haida-claimed waters. There, between the islands of Haida Gwaii and B.C.’s mainland, the company plans to install up to 110 turbines, each six metres wide, towering 80 metres above the water and buried 25 metres into the sea floor. In exchange for its support of the Hecate Strait wind farm, NaiKun has agreed to give the Haida’s wholly owned development company, HaiCo, a 50 per cent stake in NaiKun Wind Operating Inc., which is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the wind farm. NaiKun has also offered to sell a 40 per cent stake in its power generation company, already 50 per cent owned by Calgary-based EnMax, to HaiCo for $800 million (to be financed with a federal government loan guarantee). Haida leaders expect their investment would generate $20 million a year and provide up to 50 jobs in the community.

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The Haida people have seen

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 2010-10-07 11:58.

The Haida people have seen much of their land destroyed by international companies with no connection to their land, who come, plunder and leave. This wind farm could cause further ecological havoc - wind-farms in the UK are wildly unpopular, kill thousands of birds, and deliver far less revenue than promised. If the decision making process takes a few years so be it. With luck they will see the sense in cancelling it altogether.

I find the whole negotiation

Submitted by JohnnyMac (not verified) on Sat, 2010-04-03 17:52.

I find the whole negotiation process between industry keen to do business in our province and the various BC First Nations with their overlapping land claims and sketchy "democratic processes" (as your article attempts to outline) deeply disturbing. We have just assumed a massive debt, as a province, in hosting the Winter Olympics. We NEED industrial and economic development - particularly when you consider the number of people without good jobs or unemployed. We also need the industrial tax revenue to finance and pay down our debt. Highlighted in your article, above, is the glaring reality that the First Nations represent an obstacle to industrial and economic development. It is simply unrealistic to think that a primitive, stone-age, subsistence-level culture and people can come to terms with any sophisticated means of making democratic decisions. The latest news is that BC Hydro has added a further wrinkle by choosing not to include the wind farm proposal in their Clean Power Call. So the 20 million dollars and 8 years of invested time in development, outreach and negotiation on the part of NaiKun may be, ultimately, for nothing. This leaves a bad taste in the mouths of business leaders and taxpayers - like me. The "best practice" that Chanze Gamble of the New Relationship Trust can come up with is, "...to inform the community and keep them informed because it raises the chances that a project is going to go ahead, even if leadership changes.” He's getting paid to come up with this obvious factoid of common knowledge? What a pathetically bureaucratized, over-regulated disaster of a process. Our government needs to get its act together and stream-line economic development in this province - even if heavy-handed measures are necessary to expedite agreement between industry and First Nations. If this doesn't happen, nasty incidents like the Halalt First Nation road block on the Chemainus Road will become more commonplace with the accompanying violence and racial animosity. Read more: http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/top-stories/2010/03/03/haida-gwaii039s-democracy-dilemma?page=0%2C3#ixzz0k4iQJr3w

"part of the game" ?

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 2010-03-15 08:30.

"part of the game" ? Whattabout status holders who could be liable for this fiasco? You missed pointing out the concerns of department of fisheries and oceans.....this is weird "article" .

has agreed to give NaiKun

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 2010-03-14 15:55.

has agreed to give NaiKun access to a 31-square-kilometre stretch of Haida-claimed water ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There is no such agreement to give Naikun access. There is discussions and a vote to follow to see whether or not to allow this proposed project in Haida Nation waters.

Excellent article that

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 2010-03-11 19:55.

Excellent article that provides some useful insight into numerous development deals involving First Nations that are proceeding largely in secret to the public at large. When developments involve just the corporate wing of a First Nation I think there does need to be greater public accountabilty, and access to reliable information. I think we all recognize the need for suitable and sustainable economic development in all First Nations, but as a third generation non-aboriginal BC resident that believes in one democracy for everyone, I resent being treated like a proverbial mushroom when it comes to major energy and resource projects in BC these days.