First comes NTL, then the world is Nisgaa`s oyster

By Malcolm McColl

NEW AIYANSH, NISGA'A NATION - The Northern Transmission Line project is poised for grid delivery of BC Hydro power in and out of the Pacific North West. Early in the summer we reported how affected parties are putting their ducks in a row for a half-a-billion dollar project that means more, as much as $15 billion more, in potential new mining in gold, copper, and coal, plus infrastructure projects (because there`s run-of-river potential throughout the territory).

Aboriginal business in B.C. is working on a number of fronts to expand the skills capacity of First Nations, including Nisgaa Nation. Communities expecting participate in the big investments started prior to federal environmental approval, that came May 5, 2011, as a harbinger of a new economic development age in the North West Pacific.

This new economy will build out from a 400 KM stretch of BC Hydro transmission line in a remote territory, crossing First Nations, and adding new energy and opportunities as a result. Business planners have achieved a Labour Market Partnership Agreement (LMPA) that will lead many new employment initiatives. The LMPA is a wide-spread regional initiative that also puts First Nation skilled labour and business on the economic frontier of a vast area of northern B.C..

BC Hydro has been working toward this labour agreement that puts people into careers starting with the transmission line as a backbone infrastructure project, from which ensues other avenues of employment and skills development.

Bert Mercer is economic development officer for Nisgaà Lisiims which has a large play in the NTL. “Seventy percent of NTL goes through our land,” says Mercer, speaking to the wider 22,000 sq km territorial Nisgaa Nation. ”Nisgaa Lisiims approved it to go through,” including permission to go through the Nisga'a Lava Bed Memorial Park (parallel to an existing BC Hydro transmission line).

Mercer notes mining projects and run-of-river projects will drop onto NTL, and suddenly the territory will be engaged in an expanding economy. Benefits to Nisgaa come immediately in the form of direct awards in the construction phase of the NTL. “It`s a lot of capacity building in the labour force, a demand for skilled labour in many areas,” says Mercer.

The centre line is first, 400-plus kilometres, “McElhanney is doing the survey of the line,” everything tio be built from the centre line, “as the project gets underway. Nisgaa are manning about ten crews of three people each in the construction phase. “We have been working jointly with BC Hydro to assemble training `boot` camps, three of these in the Nass Valley.“

The goal is produce a work force with tickets. In fact, jobs ensue immediately. “We have two more camps running, one in Terrace by the Nisgaa Society, one in Prince Rupert, providing training to Nisgaa people to seize the opportunity.” Mercer said they are training 15 to 20 in Terrace and another 25 in Prince Rupert. Direct awards will ensue from the main contractor, `We began last summer by assessing our capacity for staffing camps, delivering gravel, providing equipment, and labour. We gauged the strength of our labour recruitment, which comes from a good data base.”

Mercer said the good government of Nisgaa is prepared for contractors to come into valley and be certified by Nisgaà Lisiims, “so that people working in our nation are certified personnel, certified by Nisgaa Lisiims.” He noted Nisgaa has taken a few pages of the economic development book from neighbouring Tahltan Nation.

“Treaty is our main driver, and our government has environmental policies that demand liaison in everything from mining, run-of-river, to construction of any kind. It`s written as Chapter 10 under environmental assessment for protection of Nisga`a territory, since May 2000. We will manage what`s coming through our capacity building,” says Mercer.

Projects like the Avanti Mine and many other IBA -proposals will start raining on the offices in New Aiyansh. “We do community consultation in each village by public forums to answer questions of the Nisgaa people,” and Nisgaa has four main villages. Projects like NTL change things dramatically, significant to the future, “One of the major impacts to overcome was the downturn in fishing and forestry. We had a huge dislocation of the work force.

“We turned into one of the highest unemployment areas in the province. It means a lot for Nisgaa as well as others for the NTL to proceed. Now opportunities come from new sectors to create more sustainable employment, something missing for quite some time now. So, where it has been all public administration jobs in our communities, now it will entrepreneurial jobs and careers with training and certification, employment-ready people working in mining.”

In this vein, Nisgaa Lisiims is supporting entrepreneurs, “with the Nisgaa business development fund, through which we are assisting Nisgaa entrepreneurs in leveraging other financial institutions, seed capital, to enable people or corporations to get funded. This initiative has been underway since 2008, and we feel well-positioned here.”

Nisgaa may be better equipped to go it alone in certain capacities, but they are open to joint ventures and other developments in smaller opportunities. “Through the regional LMPA we have a huge opening to individuals, and we can anticipate results similar to First Nations in the area of Ft. McMurray, Alberta, where it went from 15 First Nation companies in operation 20 years ago, to over 100 small business operating today.”

There can be no doubt of a similar expanse in opportunities in the Pacific North West, with proven, and yet to be discovered, resources. Nisgaa Lisiims isn`t waiting for any particular one, indeed, is proceeding by developing their tourism sector as well. They have a wilderness resort underway with a lakeside property and back country cabins to offer a set of day and overnight tours on trails, signage leading to an ice-field. It`s glacier tourism, a summer thing.

Nisgaa Lisiims is proud to announce the recent opening of their National Museum in Greenville, a facility containing over 200 Nisgaa artefacts. Opening day was May 11 2011. Furthermore within the territory of the nation they are acquiring fee-simple properties with facilities, including operations like the Vetter Lodge 10 km out of New Aiyansh. And Nass Valley Tours` Steve Johnson runs tours of the lava lake.

“We are building land base and incorporating infrastructure,” putting the Nisgaa face on things. First comes NTL, then, it appears, a revival of molybdenum mining with a 350-man camp owned by Avanti Mining.