816-1175 Douglas Street Victoria BC V8W 2E1 T 250 405 1864 F 250 381 8567 www.jfklaw.ca
June 28, 2019 Erin Thomson-Leach
Delivered by email File No.1026-027 Review Panel Secretariat, Roberts Bank Terminal 2 c/o Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency 22nd Floor, 160 Elgin St., Ottawa ON K1A 0H3
Attention: Cindy Parker, Panel Manager
Dear Ms. Parker,
Re: Ditidaht First Nation Responses to Undertakings #67 and #68 in the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project Panel Review
Please find enclosed Ditidaht’s responses to undertakings #67 and 68, which were given during the community session on June 18, 2019.
In addition, I would also like to clarify a point regarding the maps shared during the presentations that day and enclosed in Ditidaht’s Traditional Marine Use and Occupancy Study. These maps are intended for illustrative purposes only and do not reflect the totality of Ditidaht’s knowledge about its Aboriginal rights, title or culture. This information is conveyed in the body of the TMUOS as well, however we wished to make it clear that the maps are all intended for illustrative purposes.
Please let me know if you have any questions or require further information
Yours truly,
JFK Law Corporation
Per: Original Signed By
Erin Thomson-Leach Encl. as in body
CC: Paul Sieber – Ditidaht Natural Resources Manager Jeneen Hunt – Ditidaht Administrator Karen Mack – Ditidaht Executive Assistant
1 Undertaking # 67
Ditidaht First Nation to provide a copy of the submission that was made to the Oceans Protection Plan.
Response
Please find enclosed information that was provided as part of Ditidaht’s application for the Indigenous and Local Communities Engagement and Partnership Program (ILCEPP). This is intended to provide the panel with more information about the type of involvement Ditidaht is seeking in marine decision making and emergency / spill response. As this was an application under the Oceans Protection Plan, it is not specifically directed at Roberts Bank Terminal 2 but all marine projects. As such, it is relevant.
Ditidaht First Nation – Response to Undertakings 67 and 68 2
A Project Proposal for the Transport Canada Indigenous and Local Communities Engagement and Partnership Program (ILCEPP)
Ditidaht Collaborative Marine Management Plan
Nitinaht Lake, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Submitted by:
Ditidaht First Nation
3 1 Title of Project and Executive Summary
The Ditidaht Collaborative Marine Management Plan will take place within Ditidaht’s marine territory, which is located along the west and south-west coast of Vancouver Island.
One key objective of this project is to build Ditidaht’s capacity to meaningfully engage with Canada on the OPP initiatives, particularly as they relate to Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) recovery measures and related ecosystem protection and recovery, and navigation issues. The OPP initiatives have the potential to impact Ditidaht’s members’ ability to exercise their rights. In addition, as Ditidaht has stated in consultation thus far, Ditidaht should be front and centre of key initiatives taking place within its territory, such as monitoring, environmental response, research, and habitat rehabilitation.
The other key objective of this project is to develop a new approach to engaging with Canada on marine issues within Ditidaht’s territory. Ditidaht has been actively involved in bilateral consultation and technical working groups for the recovery of the SRKW and wants to better focus its participation in these and other similar processes and build toward a more effective and efficient process.
The project will include two phases. In phase one, Ditidaht will work with a consultation consultant to identify both challenges in current consultation processes and best practices that it may want to integrate moving forward. This work will support Ditidaht’s ongoing consultation with federal departments on the OPP initiatives. As part of this, Ditidaht also intends to work with technical experts to help Ditidaht’s team to evaluate the federal proposals for the initiatives.
Phase two will involve the development of the collaborative marine management plan. Ditidaht proposes to first develop a working draft, through input from community members and with support from consultants and other professionals (like legal counsel). Next, Ditidaht will meet with Canada’s representatives over a series of meetings to develop the plan collaboratively. Ditidaht will test proposals with community members as the project unfolds. In terms of timelines, Ditidaht has already commenced this work in its consultation with Canada on various OPP initiatives and especially its work around the SRKW recovery measures. However, with more support from this program, Ditidaht will begin the work of phase one outlined below in April 2019, and phase two in January 2020, with the project expected to wrap up in March 2022. Ditidaht suggests key meetings with the federal representatives to develop the Collaborative Marine Management Plan take place beginning April 2020. The total cost of this work is anticipated to be .
2 4 This project is focused on building capacity to support and enable Ditidaht to take on a greater role in the design and implementation of OPP Initiatives. It will also foster bilateral and multilateral relationships as they relate to collaborative management in Ditidaht’s territory and marine safety and environmental protection. The specific activities will include hiring consultants to provide technical expertise, hiring professional services to coordinate Ditidaht’s input and to support the development of Ditidaht’s Collaborative Marine Management Plan proposal, including incorporating Indigenous knowledge into the OPP initiatives, and preparing for and participating in consultation on the OPP initiatives.
2 Applicant’s Information
2.1 Proper Legal Name of the applicant organization
Ditidaht First Nation
2.2 Name and position of the primary contact(s) for applicant organization
Terry Edgar, Elected Councillor Jeneen Hunt, Manager Shelley Chester, Treaty Coordinator
2.3 Mailing address for all correspondence
PO Box 340 Port Alberni, British Columbia, V9Y 7M8
2.4 Communication links
Ditidaht website: www.nitinaht.com
Ditidaht phone: 250-745-3333
Email addresses for primary contacts:
Terry Edgar, Elected Councillor –
3 Organizational Profile
3.1 Type of Organization
3 5 Ditidaht is an Indigenous Community located on the West Coast of Vancouver Island.
3.2 Organizational Structure and Governance
Ditidaht is a band under the Indian Act with an elected council of five members, each responsible for various portfolios. Terry Edgar is responsible for public safety and operations, including emergency services and as such is the lead contact for council on this application. Jeneen Hunt is Ditidaht’s manager and the lead administrative contact.
Ditidaht is also near completion on stage 5 of the BC Treaty Process and expects to close its agreement in principle negotiations this year. The Oceans Protection Plan (OPP) initiatives have the potential to impact Ditidaht’s Aboriginal rights and culture, and future treaty rights, as such, members of the treaty team will be involved in the Ditidaht Collaborative Marine Management Plan as appropriate.
3.3 Mandate of the Organization
The Ditidaht Government represents the Ditidaht people, who have lived in Ditidaht’s territory since time immemorial. As such, its mandate includes protecting and advancing Ditidaht’s constitutionally protected rights and culture, including the lands and resources within Ditidaht’s territory. As Ditidaht has always been a marine-based community, Ditidaht members’ ability to exercise their core rights and culture depend on a healthy and sustainable marine ecosystem. Ditidaht engages with all levels of government and neighbouring First Nations on marine safety, environmental, and resource issues in a number of contexts. This includes consultation with the Crown, engagement in regulatory processes for projects that may adversely impact Ditidaht’s rights or the environment in Ditidaht’s territory and participating in ecosystem and habitat restoration projects and other resource management.
This mandate is directly related to many of the key objectives in the ILCEPP, particularly as it relates to:
• Partnerships with Indigenous People – this is the underlying objective of this particular proposal; • Stronger Ecosystem Conservation – such as researching the effects of marine shipping on ecosystems and addressing the threats to marine mammals; and • Improved emergency preparedness and response; and • Expanding marine training opportunities for Indigenous Peoples through the Marine Training Contribution Fund
The last two points are addressed in Ditidaht’s companion proposal.
4 6 3.4 Organizational Activities
In addition to managing and administering its community programs and services, Ditidaht has experience engaging with local, provincial, and federal government decision makers and in running projects similar to this within the context of band administration, Crown consultation, and in the treaty negotiation process.
In terms of administering projects of this size, through its involvement in the BC Treaty Process Ditidaht has undertaken large projects as treaty related measures, which has required detailed project planning and management. In the past, these have included work on Comprehensive Community Plans, Land Use Plans, and major traditional knowledge, culture and language projects, among others. Through these efforts, Ditidaht has built capacity and therefore team members have experience developing and executing projects of this size. Where necessary, Ditidaht has built a network of trusted experts and consultants from which it may also draw support.
4 Project Management Personnel
Please see resume for Terry Edgar as attached in companion proposal.
5 Declarations
5.1 Conflict of Interest
5 7
Please answer the following questions: 1. Do you presently employ, in your business or organization, a former public office holder who left the federal government in the last twelve months? Yes No 2. Does your business have as a major shareholder, a former public office holder who left the federal government in the last twelve months? Yes No 3. In case you have answered “yes” to question 1 or 2 above, was this person at an Executive level or above while in public office? Yes No If yes, please note that the Funding Agreement will include a clause to the effect that no former public servants shall derive any direct benefit from the project, unless said individual is in compliance with the applicable provisions of the Conflict of Interest Act, Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service and/or the Conflict of Interest and Post-employment Code. In order to ensure the former public servant is in compliance, please ask the employee/shareholder to contact his/her former department to obtain written confirmation that he/she is in compliance with the post-employment provisions. 4. If any situation mentioned above arises after the signing of the Funding Agreement, are there safeguards in place to prevent/identify any potential conflict of interest?
Ditidaht leadership and management will ensure that any new parties working with Ditidaht for the duration of this project will be asked about the potential for conflict of interest in advance of their work with Ditidaht and will notify Transport Canada as soon as practical of any potential change to this situation.
5.2 Declarations
I/we, the undersigned, hereby certify that: • all information provided to Transport Canada in support of this request for funding is true and complete; • if funding requested in this application is approved, the funds will be spent solely for the project and activities described in this application; and • I/we provide consent to Transport Canada to make necessary credit and other enquiries in support of this application.
6 8 10
Terry Edgar Councillor
Name Title
February 20, 2019
Signature Date
6 Project Profile
6.1 Project Objectives and Goals
Introduction and Overview
Over the course of the next three years, Ditidaht intends to develop and implement a Collaborative Marine Management Plan with Canada and, as appropriate, British Columbia and neighbouring First Nations. In particular, Ditidaht plans to work closely with Pacheedaht First Nation. Pacheedaht and Ditidaht are not only neighbouring Nations, but are also share ancestors and are negotiating in the BC Treaty Process at the same table. In this regard, Pacheedaht is submitting a very similar proposal and it is anticipated that each Collaborative Marine Management plan will complement the other.
The Collaborative Marine Management Plan will allow Ditidaht to realize one of its key goals: which is to ultimately resume its role as a primary steward of its marine territory. Ditidaht’s territory has undergone significant change in the past few decades and with the implementation of the OPP, increased commercial marine shipping (including of oil and LNG), and ongoing climate and ecosystem changes putting pressure on fish and marine mammals, it is clear that more change is coming and fast. Ditidaht anticipates significant change too; it is months away from completing its Agreement in Principle and it is critical that fast- moving changes to industrial activities or government regulation not adversely affect Ditidaht’s rights as they are today or any future treaty rights.
Indeed, some of Ditidaht’s objectives in the treaty process are to build capacity and to take on a greater leadership role for the lands, waters, and resources within its territory. Ditidaht believes it must begin capacity building now. It believes that this requires Ditidaht and the federal government to revisit their relationship and develop more transparent information sharing, incorporate Ditidaht’s Indigenous knowledge, perspective and principles into decision making and assessing the impacts of projects and decisions to rights, and, importantly, into emergency preparedness and response. There are many ways in which this project further the OPP objectives and initiatives.
7 9
a) Key Proposal Objectives
Ditidaht appreciates that a collaborative management plan will require engagement and buy-in from all parties in order to be successful. It also believes that this will require some significant capacity building and so proposes a two- phase approach. Phase 1 will focus on identifying key elements of meaningful consultation and building Ditidaht’s capacity in this regard. Phase 2 will focus on developing and implementing the Collaborative Marine Management Plan. In this regard, with respect to the Eligible Activities, both phases will:
• advance discussions on collaboration and partnership in marine safety and environment; • build capacity and expertise to enable Ditidaht to take on a greater role as it relates to the implementation of the transportation system and environmental protection measures; and • implement federal-Indigenous plans to facilitate collaborative management and partnership in marine safety and environmental protection.
Phase 1: During Phase 1, Ditidaht will work with a consultation consultant to develop a strategic approach to Crown consultation on the OPP initiatives, and particularly the whales initiative and related matters. Since Ditidaht is currently engaged with various federal departments on marine issues in its territory, it views these various processes as an opportunity to identify key areas where the parties can improve their relationship and build more meaningful consultation processes. For Ditidaht, it is an opportunity to build capacity to manage multiple consultation files, each with demanding and concurrent timelines. In addition, Ditidaht is very interested in developing more in-house technical knowledge, so it can better engage with the Crown based on Ditidaht’s independent technical reviews. In addition, Phase 1 is an opportunity for Canada to build its capacity to engage with Ditidaht and to better understand and incorporate Indigenous perspectives into their consultation in anticipation of building a collaborative relationship in Phase 2.
Phase 2: During Phase 2, Ditidaht will build on its efforts in Phase 1 to develop and eventually implement a collaborative management plan with Canada. Work on Phase 2 can begin while Phase 1 is ongoing. Ditidaht’s idea is to identify gaps and opportunities in the Crown consultation process, and use these to develop a framework for engaging with the Crown on marine-related decisions within Ditidaht’s territory. The ultimate goal would be to have a clear process for making collaborative decisions about marine issues, including marine transportation, environmental management (especially species protection and recovery), and marine resource use within the territory.
Ditidaht intends to draw from existing work (such as the Haida Gwaii Marine Use Plan) and its own experiences developing similar frameworks (such as its work in
8 10 the treaty process developing engagement frameworks with BC, Parks Canada, and Environment and Climate Change Canada. Ditidaht expects that Phase 2 will require significant support and collaboration with federal departments. Ultimately, if done correctly, a collaborative marine management plan will result in much more efficient and clear decision making that is both alive to Ditidaht’s rights and incorporates Ditidaht’s Indigenous perspective through clear criteria for assessing decisions according to Ditidaht specific values and indicators.
Impacts to Ditidaht from OPP Initiatives
As Canada is aware from Ditidaht’s participation in Crown consultation and regulatory processes for marine projects and discussions at the treaty table, Ditidaht is very concerned about the significant increase in marine activities within and surrounding its territory in recent years. In particular, Ditidaht has expressed concerns about the potential adverse impacts of commercial activities, such as the marine shipping components related to the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, Roberts Bank Terminal 2, and a number of LNG projects under consideration. These include, among others, concerns respecting:
• potential impacts to Ditidaht’s marine harvesting rights from increased commercial vessel traffic in terms of: o increased risk of collision or swamping from vessel wakes (particularly if the weather turns bad quickly, as it often does); o impacts to traditional navigation routes or harvesting sites from avoiding marine shipping vessels; o impacts to harvesters from losing gear (due to having to cut it loose to get out of the way of traffic or wakes);
• potential impacts to Ditidaht’s marine harvesting rights and Aboriginal title and governance rights from a significant oil spill, including: o impacts from oil to fish, aquatic plants, and marine mammals; o impacts to marine harvesting rights throughout Ditidaht’s territory, including particularly within Nitinaht Lake, and Swiftsure Bank; o impacts to Ditidaht’s lands and resources from oil potentially reaching the shore and especially to the unique ecosystem at Nitinaht Lake (Ditidaht has detailed its concerns about the unique hydrology at the Nitinaht Narrows); o impacts to Ditidaht’s culture resulting from impacts to Ditidaht’s lands, waters, and resources from an oil spill; o impacts to Ditidaht’s economic interests within its territory (a component of its Aboriginal title) due to the effects of a spill on fishing interests, its work at the Nitinaht hatchery, and eco-tourism; and o impacts to Ditidaht’s governance rights and particularly with regard to its stewardship role (such as in habitat restoration); and
9 11 • potential impacts to Ditidaht’s marine harvesting rights, Aboriginal title and governance rights from efforts to mitigate the risks marine shipping poses to marine mammals, such as Southern Resident Killer Whales, including: o impacts to Ditidaht’s fishing rights from fisheries closures to protect prey abundance; and o impacts to Ditidaht’s fishing, travel and intergenerational knowledge transfer from the potential establishment of whale sanctuaries and other SRKW recovery measures.
The above impacts are relevant because the OPP is often suggested as one of the ways Canada intends to mitigate impacts from commercial marine activities, such as TMX. It is important for Ditidaht to be able to see how this is going to take place and one of the key issues for engagement in both phases will be SRKW recovery measures.
It is also important that Ditidaht be front and centre of opportunities within the OPP initiatives taking place within Ditidaht territory. For example, this includes marine response planning (as detailed in a companion proposal), environmental monitoring and monitoring of killer whales, cumulative effects assessments of marine shipping, community communication and awareness building.
To date, it has been difficult to keep track of the various initiatives in the OPP – but Ditidaht is keenly interested in participating in many of the in various ways. A collaborative marine management plan will allow Ditidaht to understand and be engaged in the various aspects of the OPP and related projects and decisions holistically. This will result in clearer discussions and engagement. It will also address a capacity issue; in the sense that one point of contact and discussion will allow Ditidaht to streamline human resources and make more effective use of their very limited time. This is consistent with the recent correspondence Ditidaht received from Andrew Thompson, at DFO, indicating that moving forward, the federal departments will consult collectively with Ditidaht regarding SRKW recovery measures.
One of Ditidaht’s objectives in pursuing the Collaborative Marine Management Plan is to ensure that the federal government, as a whole, understands that its plans to mitigate the adverse impacts of marine shipping may in fact have adverse impacts on Ditidaht’s rights. This is particularly the case for plans to mitigate adverse impacts to the Southern Resident Killer Whales. For any consultation plan to be meaningful, it is essential Canada takes a whole of government view of the connection between proposed projects and decisions and their cumulative and indirect impacts, and also seeks to understand Ditidaht’s perspective on how projects and their impacts are related.
6.2 Location of Project Delivery The Ditidaht Collaborative Marine Management Plan will be focused on Ditidaht’s
10 12 Marine territory off the west and south-west coast of Vancouver Island.
6.3 Proposed Start and Completion Dates
Phase 1 as soon as funding is approved within the 2019-2020 fiscal year.
Phase 2 will start late 2019 / early 2020.
There will be some overlap between the two phases, but Ditidaht intends to have a Collaborative Marine Management Plan developed by the end of summer, 2021, and feedback and reporting complete by March 31, 2022.
6.4 Major Activities for the Project
Ditidaht has identified the following key activities for its proposal.
Item Activity Description Eligible Expenditure Phase 1 – Consultation Review and Strategic Approach 1 Retain consultation consultant: Professional fees
A consultation consultant will be retained to review the current consultation situation for Ditidaht and recommend ways for improving consultation management and for engaging with the Crown to better incorporate Ditidaht’s Indigenous knowledge and perspective into the consultation process and assessment of impacts. These strategies over the course of 2019-2020 may form the foundation of the Collaborative Marine Management Plan.
2 Consultation workshop: Professional fees Staff salary and benefits Ditidaht leadership, treaty team, and Travel fees (council are appropriate staff hold workshop with based in various consultation consultant and current legal locations on the Island) team supporting consultation to: • review current and recent decisions and consultation processes to identify best practices; • synthesize key concerns about potential impacts to rights from OPP initiatives, particularly for the SRKW recovery, and the related marine projects and decisions (such as other relevant Species at Risk
11 13 Act listing affecting fishing rights); • strategize on how to best make use of multi-stakeholder groups Ditidaht is invited to participate in; • developing a framework for incorporating Indigenous perspectives into impact assessment (drawing from the methodology for assessing potential impacts to rights developed jointly by the Mikisew Cree and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency for the Frontier Oil Sands Project.)
3 Ongoing consultation work: Staff salary Professional fees (as Ditidaht will continue to engage with Crown appropriate) and proponents (as appropriate) based on the strategic advice from Consultation consultant. These include key issues like: • the development and implementation of OPP initiatives in Ditidaht’s territory; • SRKW recovery measures and related impacts to Ditidaht; • addressing outstanding issue and concerns respecting changes to and impacts on Ditidaht navigation (including ways to improve communication); • lateral shipping lane displacement; and • discussing impacts to Ditidaht from TMX and RBT2 project, where proponents and federal departments are relying on OPP initiatives to address impacts to the ecosystem or environment.
4 Retain technical experts: Professional fees
Identify areas where Ditidaht would like to develop further capacity in technical areas (such as communication regarding navigation, hydrology, marine habitat monitoring, marine biology etc.) and work
12 14 with these experts to assess and respond to SRKW recovery measure proposals, as appropriate and to support the development of the Collaborative Marine Management Plan.
Phase 2 – Developing Collaborative Marine Management Plan 5 Reach out to First Nations with experience Travel fees Honoraria Host a workshop with First Nations Staff salaries and experienced in marine use planning to benefits discuss lessons learned and obtain Professional fees recommendations for a Collaborative Marine Management Model
6 Develop initial framework and proposal to Professional fees federal departments for discussion and Staff salaries and collaboration benefits Travel fees Based on work done at the treaty table on the draft engagement frameworks with Parks Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and British Columbia, Ditidaht will work with its legal team and consultation coordinator to prepare a draft framework for discussion.
This will require approximately 4-5 internal meetings. 7 Meet with federal departments (Transport Staff salaries Canada, Parks Canada, DFO, ECCC and Travel costs others as necessary, such as NRCan) Professional fees
Hold multiple meetings to discuss and collaborate on Collaborative Marine Management Plan. Based on its experiences with parties in the treaty process, Ditidaht anticipates meeting approximately 10 times between 2020 and 2022.
Ditidaht proposes the above phased approach because it believes that by reviewing current consultation practices and piloting new approaches to consultation it will be able to identify gaps and priorities for improvement. This process will allow it to continue to focus on key issues with Canada while also building a new, effective and efficient approach to Collaborative Management (rather than having one process delay the other). In this regard, Ditidaht looks
13 15 forward to developing work to incorporate Ditidaht’s indigenous perspective into the assessment process during consultation with Transport Canada and DFO regarding the SRKW recovery measures this year.
With respect to capacity building, Ditidaht looks forward to working with both the consultation consultant and relevant technicians to help build the collaborative management plan. An important outcome from this process will be that Ditidaht has staff that are well-trained and who have access to resources and support to continue to engage with Canada effectively and efficiently. Building a network of consultants and experts through this process (particularly through engaging with other coastal First Nations on their experiences) will ensure Ditidaht will have access to external support and expertise where independent review of technical information is required.
6.5 Project Work Plan
Table 1 - Planned Schedule Stage/Phases and Serial Description Start Date End Date Major Activities 1 Phase 1 Consultation Review and Refinement April 2019 March 31, 2020 Retain consultant to assist Ditidaht in Retain Consultation consultation and developing 1.1 April 2019 March 31, 2022 Consultant collaborative management frameworks
Consultation consultant to hold initial Consultant prep and meeting with Ditidaht leadership to 1.2 April 2019 April 30, 2019 background work review current approach to consultation
Meetings with Transport Canada and DFO on proposed SRKW recovery Ongoing consultation measures – anticipating 2 meetings in 1.3 April 2019 December 31, 2019 work April, at least monthly meetings from May to December 31, 2019
Retain appropriate technical experts, to be identified in discussions with consultation consultant, to assist Retain and work with 1.4 Ditidaht with independent reviews of April 2019 July 2019 Technical Experts proposed recovery measures for SRKW and the data to support them.
Consultation to host workshop on best practices, synthesizing issues regarding OPP initiatives, strategizing around 1.5 Consultation workshop multi-stakeholder processes, May 2019 May 2019 developing framework for assessing impacts to rights
Developing Collaborative 2 Phase 2 Start Date End Date Management Approach
14 16 Table 1 - Planned Schedule Stage/Phases and Serial Description Start Date End Date Major Activities Invite First Nation (s) with experience going through a marine planning project Marine Planning to discuss lessons learned and Between January and 2.1 March 2020 Workshop recommendations for a collaborative March 2020 marine management plan
Working with the consultant and collaborating with treaty team members Develop Initial Monthly meetings 2.2 and Pacheedaht, develop first proposal September 2020 framework for proposal starting April 2020 for discussion with federal departments
Brief community members on work on Community member collaborative management plan, seek 2.3 June 2020 June 2020 meeting input
Hold meetings, many jointly with Meet with federal Pacheedaht, to discuss and collaborate departments on on Collaborative Marine Management 2.4 September 2020 December 2021 collaborative marine Plan - anticipate at least 10 meetings to management plan refine the various elements of the plan.
Update community members on Community member collaborative management plan 2.5 February 2021 February 2021 meeting developed with Canada, seek input
Present final draft of Collaborative Community member Marine Management Plan to community 2.6 January 2022 January 2022 meeting members.
Complete final reports required and any 2.7 Final reporting February 2022 March 2022 outstanding administrative activities
6.6 Ultimate Recipient Information (only for aggregates/Groups representing others)
N/A
6.7 Partners and Contributions (to be completed if applicable)
N/A – Ditidaht is requesting the total amount of the budget from Transport Canada
6.8 Risk Assessment/Mitigation Measures
Table 2 - Risk Assessment and Mitigation Measures Risk Mitigation Measures
15 17 Table 2 - Risk Assessment and Mitigation Measures Risk Mitigation Measures The biggest risk for Ditidaht is lack of Ditidaht will mitigate this by communicating with time and resources. staff and leadership that this project is a priority and by explaining that it will alleviate time and resource constraints down the road if successful.
A status update will be a standing item on the council meeting agenda, which are held every two weeks to keep participants on track.
Lack of buy-in from Crown For this project to work, Canada must be on-side representatives and provide timely responses to Ditidaht’s proposals. Although this is somewhat out of Ditidaht’s hands, Ditidaht will make best efforts to raise any concerns about Canada’s perceived commitment to the process, particularly with respect to developing the collaborative marine management plan. Ditidaht will suggest monthly check-ins, even if a meeting is not occurring, with project leads on both side to address any concerns that may arise.
7 Communication Plan (to be completed if applicable) N/A
8 Letters of Financial Support (to be completed if applicable)
N/A
9 Legal Documentation of Applicant Organization
Please see Band Council Resolution Attached
Annexes
Annex A – BCR Annex B - See annex B to Ditidaht's companion proposal Annex C – Project budget and cash flow
16 18
A Project Proposal for the Transport Canada Indigenous and Local Communities Engagement and Partnership Program (ILCEPP)
Ditidaht First Nation Oceans Protection Plan Capacity Development Project: 2019-2021
Nitinaht Lake, British Columbia
Submitted by:
Terry G. Edgar Ditidaht Band Council Malachan #11 Nitinaht Lake, BC Canada
Date Submitted: 20-02-2019
19 1 Title of Project and Executive Summary
Ditidaht First Nation Oceans Protection Plan Capacity Development Proposal
Ditidaht First Nation’s goals for the protection of the ocean, rivers, tidal lakes, lakes and shoreline of Ditidaht traditional territory align directly with the Government of Canada’s goals within the Oceans Protection Plan. The Ditidaht First Nation Oceans Protection Plan Capacity Development Proposal specifically addresses the following Oceans Protection Plan goals:
1. Improved emergency preparedness and response
a. Establishing 24/7 emergency response and incident management. b. Increasing on-scene environmental response capacity. c. Improving oil spill response plans.
2. Engaged Canadians and partnerships with Indigenous Peoples
a. Expanding marine training opportunities for Indigenous Peoples. b. Engaging Canadians to improve their understanding of Canada’s marine safety system.
3. Enable Indigenous and local communities to take on greater roles as they relate to the design and implementation of the transportation system and/or environmental protection measures.
The development of oil spill response, emergency management, environmental response and marine capacity development is critical to the environmental health of the traditional territory of Ditidaht First Nation and the cultural health of Ditidaht as a whole. Developing the capacity of Ditidaht First Nation to participate meaningfully, sustainability and effectively to environmental emergencies with the Ditidaht First Nation Oceans Protection Plan Capacity Development Proposal (DFNOPP) is critical to the ability of the Ditidaht community to participate in environmental protection of the rich ocean and land based bio-diversity within Ditidaht traditional territories. Ditidaht’s territory stretches from the lands and waters between Bonilla Point on the east and Pachena Point on the west. The marine portion of Ditidaht’s territory extends offshore as far as the mountains on Vancouver Island are visible from a canoe and is shared with many neighbor’s including Pacific Rim National Park-West Coast Trail Unit.
The economic and environmental health of Ditidaht is related directly to the ability of its members to protect the environmental integrity of their territories and
2 20 sustainably participate in and create opportunities within the traditional territories of the nation; both ocean and land based.
This project builds upon the success of a year long oil spill awareness project that Ditidaht facilitated during 2017-2018. The one-year oil spill awareness project introduced Ditidaht community members to oil spill response and emergency management. This project is intended to build upon that success and directly increase the capacity of Ditidaht to be prepared for, participate in and mitigate environmental emergencies, oils spills and other marine based emergencies.
The DFNOPP is a two-year capacity development initiative designed to improve on-scene environmental response capacity, improving oil spill response capacity and creating the community-based capacity to manage emergency response and incident management within the remote traditional territory of Ditidaht First Nation and the surrounding coastal areas of Vancouver Island.
Phase One:
Phase One of the DFNOPP (April 2019-Sept 2019) is intended to develop community-based preparedness and awareness of environmental and emergency response both marine and land based and to continue the capacity development of environmental emergency team leadership and emergency management; specifically, to develop the capacity to mitigate the damage to coastal Vancouver Island if an oil spill occurs. This includes the protection of the ocean environment, wildlife, economic and environmental sensitivities, protection of Ditidaht cultural areas and the safety of both the responders and visitors to the traditional territories of Ditidaht First Nation.
Phase One (April 2019-Sept 2019) will focus on the specific oil spill and marine industry technical, emergency management and risk awareness skills as well as the critical personal and group skills needed to meet emergency management requirements in the contemporary oil spill and environmental response landscape. Participants will not only learn the technical skills demanded by oil spill, environmental response operators and the marine industry but, they also will develop their capacity in the transferable leadership and personal skills of- adaptability, resilience, responsibility, persistence, integrity, and the ability to work well with others. The leadership components of phase one are intended to increase the capacity of Ditidaht community members to manage environmental emergencies to a common practices level.
The projected cost of Phase One is:
Phase Two:
Phase Two of the DFNOPP (Oct 2019-August 2020) is intended to develop the
3 21 emergency management capacity of the Ditidaht Emergency Management Team and ocean protection emergency awareness for Ditidaht First Nation community members; specifically, the capacity for interoperability with regional partners (regional districts, municipalities, other First Nations and government emergency management agencies and organizations). While the focus of Phase Two will remain emergency and environmental response in a marine and coastal environment, the intent is to create the capacity for sustainable and effective disaster, environmental and emergency response in all ocean focused and marine based environments. The training will be focused on developing the capacity of Ditidaht First Nation to participate in mutual response, mutual aid and the development of sustainable emergency management leadership at a broad level within Ditidaht First Nation.
The projected cost of Phase Two is:
Total Cost of the DFNOPP project is: 2 Applicant’s Information
2.1 Ditidaht First Nation
2.2 Name and position of the primary contact(s) for applicant organization
Terry G. Edgar Public Works Manager-Ditidaht Emergency Management Co-ordinator Ditidaht First Nation
2.3 Mailing address for all correspondence
Ditidaht First Nation
2.4 Communication links
4 22 3 Organizational Profile
3.1 Type of Organization Ditidaht First Nation is a First Nation located in the remote coastal area of Vancouver Island.
3.2 Organizational Structure and Governance
Ditidaht is a band under the Indian Act with an elected council of five members, each responsible for various portfolios.
This proposal will be overseen by Terry Edgar and the Ditidaht First Nation Emergency Management team which has Ditidaht Band Council representation, representation from members of the Ditidaht Community and an advisory board of emergency management representatives from regional emergency management organizations.
3.3 Mandate of the Organization
Ditidaht First Nation’s traditional mandate, since time immemorial, has been the protection and stewardship of the traditional territory from which all aspects of life and Ditidaht culture are derived. This mandate is aligned with Ditidaht’s Comprehensive Community Plan constructed by the Ditidaht Band Council which has enabled community consultation to move Ditidaht First Nation forward.
The Ditidaht Comprehensive Community Plan highlights Ditidaht’s priorities of protecting the traditional territory and developing the capacity of Ditidaht community members to ensure sustainable and effective stewardship of the territory for cultural and economic growth.
3.4 Organizational Activities
Ditidaht First Nation has a long history of success with program management, excellent accountability structures with all levels of government funding, and a very competent project management team that has supervised complex projects for many years. Ditidaht has experience engaging with local, provincial, and federal government decision makers and in running projects similar to this within the context of band administration, Crown consultation, and in the treaty negotiation process. Ditidaht’s leadership has become familiar with the OPP objectives through discussions on various regulatory processes and Crown consultation, such as the Trans Mountain Expansion and Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Projects, including through participation on the Indigenous Monitoring and Advisory Committee. Ditidaht councillors have also participated in OPP meetings and workshops and some Ditidaht members have done some spill response training in the past few years.
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Ditidaht First Nation has the ability and the experience to meet the project reporting and accountability structures contained within the ILCEPP applicant's guide. The project manager designated in the Ditidaht DFNOPP has experience managing with complex projects such as:
• Ditidaht Oil Spill Response and Marine Capacity Development Project: ▪ Managing complex funding requirements and accountability structures. ▪ Creating high participation rates within oil spill programs with Ditidaht Community members. ▪ Working with multiple service providers to provide consultation and training within remote coastal environments. ▪ Meeting reporting requirements for all funding partners. • The building of Ditidaht Community School including: ▪ Reporting on progress ▪ Accounting reports ▪ Construction agreements ▪ Labour relations and Contract management • Ditidaht water system upgrade including: ▪ Reporting to multiple levels of government ▪ Water systems analysis and system planning ▪ Accounting reports ▪ Managing service providers and general trades • Ditidaht Reserve Expansion: ▪ Liaising with multiple branches of government ▪ Management of multiple service providers and general trades. ▪ Reporting on progress ▪ Accounting reports
4 Project Management Personnel
4.1 The project manager is Terry Edgar, an elected band council representative as well as Ditidaht Public Works manager. Terry has the capacity and the team to manage complex projects and meet defined accountability structures (See Appendix A).
5 Declarations
6 24 5.1 Conflict of Interest
Ditidaht First Nations has conflict of interest policy both within its administrative structure and within Ditidaht Band Council.
Please answer the following questions: 1. Do you presently employ, in your business or organization, a former public office holder who left the federal government in the last twelve months? No 2. Does your business have as a major shareholder, a former public office holder who left the federal government in the last twelve months? No 3. In case you have answered “yes” to question 1 or 2 above, was this person at an Executive level or above while in public office? Yes No If yes, please note that the Funding Agreement will include a clause to the effect that no former public servants shall derive any direct benefit from the project, unless said individual is in compliance with the applicable provisions of the Conflict of Interest Act, Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service and/or the Conflict of Interest and Post-employment Code. In order to ensure the former public servant is in compliance, please ask the employee/shareholder to contact his/her former department to obtain written confirmation that he/she is in compliance with the post-employment provisions. 4. If any situation mentioned above arises after the signing of the Funding Agreement, are there safeguards in place to prevent/identify any potential conflict of interest?
Ditidaht First Nation has conflict of interest policy that is managed at both the administrative level for the Nation as well as the Band Council level. Ditidaht leadership and management will ensure that any new parties working with Ditidaht for the duration of this project will be asked about the potential for conflict of interest in advance of their work with Ditidaht and will notify Transport Canada as soon as practical of any potential change to this situation.
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5.2 Declarations
I/we, the undersigned, hereby certify that: • all information provided to Transport Canada in support of this request for funding is true and complete; • if funding requested in this application is approved, the funds will be spent solely for the project and activities described in this application; and • I/we provide consent to Transport Canada to make necessary credit and other enquiries in support of this application.
Ditidaht First Nation Terry G. Edgar Public Works Manager Name Title
February 19th, 2019 Signature Date
Ditidaht First Nation Robert Joseph Elected Chief Councillor Name Title
February 19th, 2019 Signature Date
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6 Project Profile
6.1 Project Objectives and Goals
The Ditidaht Oceans Protection Plan Capacity Development Proposal directly aligns with the following Government of Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan objectives of:
1. Improved emergency preparedness and response
a. Establishing 24/7 emergency response and incident management. b. Increasing on-scene environmental response capacity. c. Improving oil spill response plans.
2. Engaged Canadians and partnerships with Indigenous Peoples
d. Expanding marine training opportunities for Indigenous Peoples. e. Engaging Canadians to improve their understanding of Canada’s marine safety system.
3. Enable Indigenous and local communities to take on greater roles as they relate to the design and implementation of the transportation system and/or environmental protection measures.
Ditidaht’s objectives for the DFNOPP are:
1. Develop the capacity of Ditidaht community members and the Ditidaht Emergency Response Team to effectively mitigate and respond to environmental emergencies on the traditional territory of the Ditidaht First Nation and surrounding coastal areas including: a. Improving oil spill response planning and oil spill response capability. b. Increasing the capacity to co-manage environmental emergencies with government agencies, regional governments and other First Nations with a high level of effectiveness and collaboration.
9 27 c. Increasing the capacity of Ditidaht community members to participate effectively and sustainably in the marine safety system Vancouver Island. d. Increase the capacity of the Ditidaht Emergency Response Team to lead environmental response, oil spill response and emergency response with best practice processes, industry standard training processes that respects traditional Ditidaht roles of stewardship and environmental protection.
Within the traditional territory of Ditidaht First Nation lies vast amounts of shoreline on Vancouver Island; rivers, lakes and old growth forests of the Carmanah Valley; the unique waters of the tidal lake, Nitinaht Lake; and, many kilometers of Pacific Rim National Park-West Coast Trail Unit. Increased shipping and marine traffic in general is a concern for the protection of the environment within Ditidaht traditional territory.
Future developments such as the neighbouring Hu-ay-aht First Nation’s development of a Liquid Natural Gas facility and transportation of oil, in any form, on the coast of Vancouver Island directly effects the ocean health of Ditidaht traditional territory.
The cultural, economic and environmental health of Ditidaht is related directly to the ability of its members to protect the environmental integrity of their territories and sustainably participate in and create opportunities within the traditional territories of the nation; both ocean and land based.
6.2 Location of Project Delivery
Both phases of the DFNOPP during the two years of the project will take place within the traditional territory of Ditidaht First Nation; both in the tidal lake region of Nitinaht Lake and on the shoreline of Vancouver Island in the waters between Bonilla Point on the east and Pachena Point on the west. Regional meetings that focus on the interoperability of emergency management systems and organizations during year two will be located in Nitinaht Lake, Port Alberni and Lake Cowichan.
6.3 Proposed Start and Completion Dates
Project start date will be as soon as funding is approved within the 2019-2020 fiscal year and project end date (end of phase 2) is August 30th, 2020.
6.4 Major Activities for the Project
10 28 Item Activity Description Eligible Expenditure Phase 1 – Community Environmental Awareness and Ditidaht Leadership Team Capacity Development 1 Environmental Emergency Response Professional fees Evaluation and Community Environmental Staff Salary and benefits Emergency Response Plan: Room rentals Honoraria An emergency management consultant will be retained to review the emergency response planning capacity for Ditidaht and will cocreate with the Ditidaht Emergency Response Team a response plan that incorporates Ditidaht’s Indigenous knowledge and perspective into the plan. This plan will inform the strategies during phase two of this project of how Ditidaht conducts interoperability training with and consultation with other regional governments, First Nations and emergency management organizations.
2 Ditidaht Emergency Management Team Professional fees Capacity Development: Staff salary and benefits Room rentals Ditidaht Emergency Management Team, Travel fees Ditidaht Band Council, Ditidaht Managers and Honoraria Ditidaht Elders will be involved in five emergency management leadership development capacity initiatives from funding start to September 2019. 3 Ditidaht Community Environmental Staff salary Emergency Awareness and Marine Capacity Professional fees (as Development: appropriate) Room Rentals Ditidaht Community Members will engage in oil spill specific, environmental emergency training and marine capacity development training at an awareness level three times from funding start to September 2019. Phase 2 – Emergency management interoperability and consultation with regional partners 5 Regional Environmental Response Room rental Consultation Travel fees Honoraria Ditidaht facilitated Regional Meeting of Staff salaries and government, oceans-based emergency benefits
11 29 response agencies and organizations and Professional fees regional First Nations to create a framework for interoperability and collaboration for oceans based emergencies. This meeting will inform the collaborative training specific goals for the Ditidaht Emergency Response Team for phase two. November 2019 6 Ditidaht Emergency Response Team and Professional fees Ditidaht Band Council Environmental Staff salaries and Emergency Response Capacity benefits Development.
Based on the needs identified by Ditidaht at the Regional Environmental Response Consultation, Ditidaht will engage in 5-6 Emergency Management leadership capacity development workshops to increase Ditidaht’s capacity to respond to environmental emergencies at the local and regional level as well as develop and evolve Ditidaht policy to support emergency environmental response.
6.5 Project Work Plan
Planned Schedule
Table 1 - Planned Schedule Stage/Phases and Serial Description Start Date End Date Major Activities 1 Stage 1 Planning and Preparation Environmental Emergency Retain Emergency management Response Evaluation consultant and evaluate all Ditidaht 1.1 and Community April 2019 June 2019 response plans for oil spill and Environmental environmental response. Emergency Response Plan
12 30 Table 1 - Planned Schedule Stage/Phases and Serial Description Start Date End Date Major Activities Ditidaht Emergency Review results of emergency Management Team environmental response evaluation and 1.2 June 2019 Sept 2019 Capacity Development: begin Ditidaht Emergency Management Team capacity development. Ditidaht Community Environmental Engage community with awareness Emergency Awareness level emergency management, oil spill 1.3 June 2019 Sept 2019 and Marine Capacity response and marine capacity Development: development trainings.
2 Stage 2 Project Delivery Begin consultation with regional governments, oceans-based Regional emergency management agencies and Environmental regional First nations about 2.1 June 2019 Nov 2019 Response Consultation interoperability and collaboration to response to environmental emergencies. Nov 2019 is targeted date of meeting. Engage with emergency response and Ditidaht Emergency environmental response experts to Response Team and address leadership capacity needs and Ditidaht Band Council to provide environmental and 2.2 Environmental Dec 2019 August 2020 emergency response training to Emergency Response address leadership challenges and Capacity Development. needs identified from Regional
Environmental Response Consultation.
6.6 Ultimate Recipient Information (only for aggregates/Groups representing others) N/A
6.7 Partners and Contributions (to be completed if applicable)
6.8 Risk Assessment/Mitigation Measures
N/A
Table 2 - Risk Assessment and Mitigation Measures Risk Mitigation Measures Typical project risks with almost any Mitigation measures are deliberate project planning project are lack of funds, lack of time, activities that will be undertaken in the course of the lack of resources, lack of participation, project to ensure that the risk is avoided, and the inadequate or untimely materials, etc consequences or the impact on the project are reduced. The risk associated with this project are:
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1. Cancellation of services by • Ditidaht First Nation has developed a service providers during both relationship with all of the service providers Phase One and Phase Two. contained within the DFNOPP proposal and has experience with managing scheduling for flexible service delivery. • The timelines and planning of service for the workshops, meetings, training opportunities and DFNOPP activities have been planned so as to have flexibility of delivery time and date as well as flexibility in the order in which they are delivered.
2. Lack of participation by • Ditidaht First Nation has deemed the Ditidaht First Nation protection of the environment and emergency community members. management (both protection of Ditidaht community members and visitors and the protection of Ditidaht traditional territory) as high priorities of operational focus. This gives the mandate to all Ditidaht First Nation emergency response team members and community members to the DFNOPP as a priority. • Ditidaht First Nation has worked for the past 18 months to develop an awareness of the importance of Ocean’s Protection work, environmental response and emergency management work with its community members. Ditidaht First Nation has a strong buy in for participation in projects relating to environmental response, ocean’s protection and emergency response and has a developing capacity for participation in these projects. • 3. Co-ordination challenges with • For phase two of this proposal to be regional, municipal and First effective, regional governments, Nation partners during Phase emergency management Two of DFNOPP. organizations and regional First Nations must be on-side to collaborate with region environmental and oil spill response planning.Although this is somewhat out of Ditidaht’s hands,
14 32 Ditidaht will continue to lead its regional partners in collaborative conversations and address any perceived lack commitment to the process, particularly with respect to developing a collaborative marine emergency framework. Ditidaht will liaise monthly during phase two of this process with regional governments, emergency management agencies and regional first nations to build buy in and participation in regional emergency response conversations.
7 Communication Plan (to be completed if applicable)
N/A 8 Letters of Financial Support (to be completed if applicable) *Note that if you are requesting 100% of total eligible expenditures, this information will not be required.
N/A
9 Legal Documentation of Applicant Organization Please see Band Council Resolution Attached Annexes
In addition to your completed application, the following documents must be included with your proposal.
Annex A – Evidence to validate Project Manager’s credentials, i.e. résumé Annex B – Letters of financial support (if applicable) Annex C – Letters Patent, Articles and Certificate of incorporation, or other legal instrument, etc Annex D – Project budget and cash flow (please use the budget and cashflow Excel template that was sent to you)
15 33 Undertaking #68
Ditidaht First Nation to confirm which of the questions presented on pg. 3 of the “Preliminary Response to Port Metro Vancouver's Proposed Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project” (“Preliminary Response”) from CEAR #1918 remain of concern to Ditidaht First Nation.
Response
Ditidaht prepared this preliminary response in 2015, when the Port Authority was completing its Marine Shipping Addendum to its Environmental Impact Statement. Since then, through various processes, Ditidaht has gained a better understanding of some of the issues identified on page 3 in the context of the RBT2 assessment process and in various other processes (such as in discussions under the OPP) since that time. Ditidaht expects to continue to engage on these important matters in various discussions or consultation respecting projects or Crown decisions regarding the marine environment within Ditidaht’s traditional territory, and their lands and resources. Ditidaht reserves the right to continue to ask questions about further details or raise additional concerns; particularly in the context of Crown consultation or consultation with the Port Authority.
The following specific issues remain of concern from the list on page 3 of the Preliminary Response:
• What plans are in place to account for delayed shipping traffic on account of inclement weather? Will this result in traffic higher than the projected daily average? • What communication plans are in place to navigate the various jurisdictions involved in emergency and spill response? • Will responses and investments in the wake of potential accidents and spills be long lasting? • How would contaminants associated with cargo travelling to and from RBT2 affect maritime and freshwater species? And cultural heritage sites such as petroglyphs and village sites?
Page 3 refers to questions included in Appendix A, which also includes “Preliminary Issues and Concerns.” To be clear – in this undertaking response, Ditidaht is simply highlighting specific questions upon which Ditidaht remains uncertain or unclear. The preliminary concerns (such as the concerns about potential adverse effects in item 1 and 2(a)) and the cumulative effects comments) remain areas of concern.
The answers to the following questions remain unclear (where questions overlap with those from page 3, we have omitted them).
Ditidaht First Nation – Response to Undertakings 67 and 68 34 • What are the procedures [for container ships] in the event of inclement weather? Are there circumstances under which a ship will not travel [with specific reference through Ditidaht marine territory]. • Do the emergency response plans account for the types of conditions typical of Ditidaht’s marine territory? Do they account for the unique geography and topography of Ditidaht’s territory or for the fact that road access to Ditidaht’s territory is extremely limited? • Who is responsible for carrying out, monitoring and enforcing emergency response plans? • What information is available about the various contaminant pathways for cargo typically carried to and from the Project? For each, how long would it typically take to reach the shore and nearby bodies of freshwater in Ditidaht’s territory (particularly given the strong tides and currents in this area)? • How would various contaminants affect: o Water quality of freshwater bodies in Ditidaht’s territory and Ditidaht’s water for domestic or other purposes related to the exercise of aboriginal rights, title and culture; o In-stream habitat for fish and other wildlife; o Vegetation on shore; o Fish, seafood, birds, and other animals on shore and in or near to adjacent freshwater bodies?
Ditidaht First Nation – Response to Undertakings 67 and 68 35