| PNCIMA Information Gathering SECOA |
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| Thursday, 11 February 2010 | |
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February 11th, 2010 Mr. Chris Campbell Phd. Executive Director The Ocean Renewable Energy Group 9th Floor 1188 West Georgia Street Vancouver British Columbia CANADA V6A4A2 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it | 250 754-0040 CANADA Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Plan Process Large Ocean Management Area Planning [LOMA] Socio-Economic Assessment and Cultural Overview Focus Group working session February 9 and 10 2010 Crest Hotel Prince Rupert Dear Mr. Campbell: Thank you for the opportunity to use the OREG allocation of financial support from the North Coast Skeena First Nations Stewardship Society financial resources to attend and participate in the socio-economic and cultural overview and assessment (SECOA) that supports the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA) initiative. The following is a brief synopsis of my experience at this day and a half session. The text in italics represents the agenda and my comments are provided in plain text. The report consulting team is led by Gary C. Robinson, RCA [Victoria], with support from Randy Sunderman, Peak Solutions [Kamloops], and three other specialists and a facilitator. There were no contacts names or information given at the meeting. This team has considerable experience in the Forestry and Resource Management processes and economic development strategy development, but appeared to be weak on some of the idiosyncrasies of communities on the coast, which was the point of the information collection effort. The team advised that the session was designed to ground proof and fact check the statistics. I provided a DVD to Mr. Robinson with copies of the reports, presentations and supplementary information that you recommendation, in addition to an entire battery of additional studies. He was surprised and I noted that many of the other participants who criticized the consultants with how wrong the approach was, how it had all been studied before, and how smart the participants were, seemed not to come prepared to contribute in this way. Process Goal: To obtain expert, area-specific input into the development of a socio-economic and cultural overview and assessment (SECOA) that supports the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA) initiative. As happens with working sessions on the Coast and elsewhere, many participants used the very valuable time to complain about their circumstance or blame others for their current condition. A handful of people actually contributed the caliber of valuable insight that the team requires to build an adequate snapshot of the SEA and Cultural condition of the policy area. Process Objectives: 1) To obtain input into socio-economic and cultural information, activity and community profiles, activity and community trends. It became apparent early on that this was not a conventional Socio-Economic Assessment in the sense of what the Province conducted as a Land and Coastal Resource Management Plan process, but rather, the real goal is to provide a snapshot of the current condition of the policy area with respect to social, economic and cultural conditions to street test the statistics against actual experience. By no means can this be a thorough snapshot as detailed conversations and sampling by community will be required and has been committed to by Mr. Neil Davis, PNCIMA Coordinator | Coordonnateur du ZGICNP, Oceans, Habitat and Enhancement Branch | Direction des oceans, de l’habitat et de la mise en valeur. 2) To review and obtain input on proposed analyses and approach. From the document I sent to you prior to this meeting, we were informed that the team developed a couple of segments as sample approaches to how they planned on reporting. Using the conventional three ringed diagram, that resembles a trillium, Mr. Robinson advised that they only wanted to focus on the overlap area and intersects of the “Value” circle, meaning the Human Activity, with the “Issue” circle and “Marine Area” circle. They also wanted to note interactions taking place between parties that resulted from this intersect. Delegates had trouble staying on point in many cases and wandered through the social justice, political caucusing, academic inertia, low self esteem, rights and title minefields, a problem that the team could not control effectively. There was no attempt to “Park” the challenges and deal with them later. 3) To foster engagement in the PNCIMA initiative of experts from a range of interested parties by providing a formal opportunity for input into the SECOA, which will serve as a foundation for planning work undertaken in the initiative. There was no list of delegates provided, so I cannot speak to the “expertise” of submissions. I met some very talented consultants working for First Nations in the areas of resource management, and there were many people who did not appear to have any credentials. One resident from Haida Gwaii said he only made the session as he had a dentist appointment, as if to say the process has not yet achieved any status or priority. I believe that when the report is in draft and OCEAN Industries BC and the other 120 community of interest NGO’s have a chance to vet the findings, we can ensure that they receive the expert information they have identified. A couple of observations I shared included: - the process needs an open blog to grow a frequently asked questions file server in the same way purchasers treat RFP responses to proponents. The responses need to be attributed. I saw really awkward, or worse no responses, that you and I could easily of handled, and would have served Mr. Davis better; - the report must provide anecdotal points of reference, not testimonials or “Case Studies”. In the First Nation tradition of oral history, we have examples of successful and not so successful implementation of policy, investment and consultation to share from the last 25 years on the coast; and; -the process needs a couple of “Elders” or “Correspondents” or “Commentators” that are not paid by Government, Moore Foundation and are not “Lobbyists” for Industry, to help the processors and constituents keep things in perspective. When a couple of local politicians and known campaigners went off on a rant, I explained the context of what was said and its origins to some people offline and they immediately had a different sense of what was said. Background: The SECOA will provide an essential foundation for the PNCIMA initiative in a number of different ways. Through the integrated management process, the SECOA will assist the planning table in: -developing socio-economic and cultural objectives for the PNCIMA; -assessing trade-offs between uses; and -identifying areas important for conservation or human use. There are a couple of challenges to these assertions: - The Planning Table, as it is referred, has already demonstrated that if a condition goes against what a particular First Nations thinks, they will ignore it; - It was pointed out that there is no cost benefit analysis or assessment and that the report will be anecdotal tied to statistics; - At best, one could develop themes for objectives and categories; - There has been a distinct indication that GIS maps will be used to identify perceived conflicts and that the “Planning Table” will determine the “trade-off”. It is important to remember that: The results of PNCIMA will be presented to a Federal Minister for consideration. There will always be the final opportunity to present business cases prior to policy resolution. Unfortunately, that leaves the final word with Industrial and Environmental paid campaigners that have access to government. That said, organizations like OREG and OIBC will continue to do their best to contribute to a fair and equitable process, given that I am not a paid participant, but rather an unpaid volunteer. Work on the SECOA will involve: - assembling and cataloguing available existing socio-economic information about the PNCIMA; providing socio-economic and cultural profiles for each Regional District; and profiling the status and trends of marine activities and communities in the PNCIMA. - Identifying and prioritizing data gaps and filling them where possible; conducting analyses that help identify interactions, compatibilities, and trade-offs between socio-economic and cultural activities or features, key stressors, and the implications of trends for user groups and communities. Given the significance of the socio-economic and cultural issue to many elements of the planning process, it will be essential to work from the best available information and to draw on known expertise in the region in order for the ultimate SECOA product to be both accurate and representative. The workshop proceedings will be made publicly available following the workshop, will be used to inform information gathering and analysis for the SECOA and will be provided to PNCIMA planning table(s) (once established) in order to support the planning process. I will provide a written submission to the team to include as part of the proceedings to ensure that our understanding of the subjects chosen as values are communicated, and that there are some “Values” that were omitted. SECOA WORKSHOP PROGRAM Crest Hotel, Prince Rupert, BC | Tuesday, February 9, 2010 | Part I: Introduction 8:30 – 8:45 Welcome provided by Chief Clarence Nelson, Tsimshian First Nations and Bruce Reid, recently appointed FOC Regional Director, Pacific Region, Oceans Division, replacing Mel Kotyk, who has redeployed to the North Coast. The new Deputy Minister of the merged Oceans Division starts in Ottawa February 23rd, 2010 9:00 – 9:30 PNCIMA Initiative Overview (Neil Davis, DFO) 9:30 – 10:00 SECOA Methods and Approach (Robinson Consulting and Associates Limited) Part II: Breakout Sessions – Value and Activity Profiles The following explanation was provided to me in the last session, but I have inserted it here because it helps define the context of the work: There are four questions the team asks: 1. Have they got the information right? 2. The statistics tell what happened, but not why. They are asking the broader community to help them understand the dynamics of the statistics; 3. They are seeking people to define what the interaction of human activity is with the marine environments; and; 4. What are the forward looking trends, major projects and influential investments? 10:15 – 11:45 Marine Transportation This was one of the “Values” that was enumerated in writing prior to the focus group sessions. While transit of vessels larger than 20 metres was identified as the baseline, delegates quickly pointed out the need to map out and reference smaller vessel traffic, energy installations, temporary se of areas, and the real influence of the use of floatplanes to drive the coastal economy. Dan Edwards, Executive Director of the Area A Crab Fisherman [http://areaacrab.org/splash.asp] relayed his ongoing concern with BC Ferry Service Corporation regarding the definition of a shipping lanes and self-policing of fishers as an ongoing conflict. I advised Mr. Edwards that I would make a referral to you personally so that you could resolve a multi use conflict between OREG installations, Ships and Fisherman, before it gets to Government. There is also an opportunity for OREG to collaborate on Ocean Monitoring with respect to developing approaches to resolve Ocean Health issues. Des Nobles, Regional Director for Area A on the mainland [Skeena Queen Charlotte RD], has a double role as an elected representative and the Northern Campaigner for the T Buck Suzuki Foundation, stated unequivocally that there was a “Moratorium” against Tankers and that the current policy known as the “Tanker Exclusion Zone” in the Notices to Mariners, was some form of conspiracy by Government. Kitimat and Kitimaat were mentioned on several occasions. It appears that both communities have failed to establish common ground upon which to jointly plan for the Douglas Channel use. Increased use required Radar and Traffic Control Centre. There were few Mariners in the room. Commercial Fisheries The loss of skill sets and capabilities was identified as an issue. No one in post-secondary institutions is addressing the loss of workforce and skills issues for this economy. Also, Fisheries organizations are not participating in the PNCIMA process. 1:15 – 2:15 Coastal Tenure and Ocean Dumping Activities References made to aquaculture and shellfish growth being mutually exclusive. This value includes permission to use surface and subsurface areas of the ocean. Rights and Title as well as Royalty for Resource systems were identified. Appurtenancy was requested. The policy that says that locals gets first dibs on wealth generated by resources. I attempted to explain how “Buy Local” works against small business, and that negotiating “Community Benefits” in tenure approvals was more productive. I explained that approval processes were too expensive for small businesses and communities and that serial approvals are investment killers. Recreational Fisheries This was reported as a motherhood issue. Little information, other than the importance of tourism and salmon was reported. Seafood Processing It was reported that processing was done elsewhere and that businesses should be made to process near the source of the resource. 2:15 – 3:15 Research / Enforcement It was reported that the intuitive information required for this work will most likely not be shared. Community contacts will assist in the delivery of this profile. Maritime Defence and Public Safety The definition of this value moved away from “National Defense” and towards “Marine Security” Issues related to response to oil spills, big or small, through to the total lack of Marine Police capability, SAR response and patrols. This also included the under capacity related to Port Security, tow boat availability in storms and emergency response. A Councillor from the City of Prince Rupert reported that their work indicated that Offshore Oil and Gas development and production would have no financial or meaningful employment benefit. Kim Johnson, an environment manager from Shell Oil attempted to draw attention to the NL experience, but was downed out by other speakers. Subsistence Activities Was defined as ceremonial and food fisheries, but discussion took it back to micro business, sole proprietorship, the right to local controls, the lack of self determinism, and waiting for government to “fix” everything. Basically, the same complaint from some citizens in the North of the area about how no one cares after them. There was little interest in hearing some of the southern solutions around community advisory organizations, cross community solutions, collaboration outside treaty or any other success for that matter. There was evidence that many of the outspoken are affected by an entitlement sociology which limits their ability to respond effectively to issues. 3:30– 4:30 Marine Recreation and Tourism It was reported that the Salmon Culture was an emotional issue. Investments are predominantly made by non-residents, which means that any direct or indirect impacts accrue to non-residents and residents are left with clean up and no real jobs. Marine Aquaculture Ms Stevenson of the BC Shellfish Growers was able to make the point that Investment goes where it is welcome and the North has made it clear that investment is not welcome. At the same time, some First Nations have embraced aquaculture. A couple of participants kept sliding into socio-political and policy blame scenarios, which have nothing to do with planning. Ocean Energy and Mining I thought this should be called Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, as the subject matter is similar to the scope of the Provincial Ministry by the same name. Mr. Nobels, a Regional Director made a great show of waving a yet to be released report from UBCM on Offshore Oil and Gas around, but the contents were not disclosed. Mr. Nobels and a Councillor from Prince Rupert made their point that they can see no meaningful impacts other than risks associated with offshore oil and gas. Mr. Johnson from Shell Canada suggested that they look at NL data and not unrelated information. A rep from the Naikun Wind operation expressed his concerns about misinformation about his industry. I offered that the team should check out the resource atlas I provided on the DVD, pages 77- on are relevant to the tidal resource opportunity, with a table of individual sites on page 97 and a summary map on page 107. The wave map is on page 43. I also advised that if Canada is to have 15000MW of marine energy to meet 2050 GHG goals, British Columbia likely will have to provide half. Even if an east/west transmission line lets BC partly off the hook, these same demands from the PNW or even California will drive major development. A rep from the Council of Haida Nations advised that they do not support Offshore Oil and Gas development. Mr. Robinson did speak of undersea mining, however, there was no one to speak to that opportunity. Wednesday, February 10, 2010 | Part III: Breakout Sessions – Cultural and Community Profiles 8:45 – 9:45 Community Profiles Mr. Sunderman ran this session. It was to define the scope of the PNCIMA AREA, Regional Districts, and Municipal Census Areas. I advised that they need to define the Alliances of First Nations that are collecting data to suit their territorial interests. I also noted that the Comox Strathcona RD had split up. Mr. Sunderman advised that he presents the information in the way he gets it until someone tells him different. Mr. Edwards, Executive Director of the Area A Crab Fisherman noted that there has been a cabinet submission to Provincial Caucus on all of the subjects covered to this point in the meeting and that it was delivered recently. The general impression I was given by the residents is that they are not interested in non-resident investment and that they demand the governments to solve their problems for them. I have several pages of notes on this subject area if you wish detail. Cultural Values and Interests In this section, the team used the participants to define the factors that drew them to the region, and for those that were born in the region, the factors that kept them there. From this, the team will organize its index cards into categories that will paint a multifaceted mosaic of the communities of interest. Conclusion There are more opportunities to provide direct information to the team and I would be pleased to provide that facilitation should you so desire. Thank you again for offering me the opportunity to participate in the process. While volunteering is a great way to maintain my profile in the community, I need to focus on establishing my consultancy. I really appreciate your continued support. Respectfully Submitted OCEAN Industries BC Patrick Nelson Marshall Saanich, Vancouver Island, British Columbia www.patrickmarshall.tel Comments (0)
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