Manitoba Hydro

An environmental coalition surprised Tory Leader Hugh McFadyen Tuesday with 10,000 letters urging the province to stand firm against a major transmission line down the east side of Lake Winnipeg.

McFadyen and his party have long opposed the government's stance, arguing BiPole III should be built down the east side, rather than west of lakes Winnipegosis and Manitoba, the route the government chose in 2007.

Ron Thiessen, Manitoba director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, had a brief discussion with McFadyen as he presented him with a CD version of the letters and one blank piece of paper symbolizing them.

"Debate and perspective on these issues is good," McFadyen said, noting that his party has "a respectful disagreement" with CPAWS and its partners in the initiative, including The Wilderness Committee, the Boreal Forest Network and the U.S.-based Natural Resources Defense Council.

The groups argue running BiPole III down the east side would jeopardize a bid to have the area designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, as well as compromising the ecological and cultural benefits of keeping the forest intact.

A spokeswoman for the Tories said the vast majority of the signatories to the letters are American, with only a handful coming from Manitoba.

WINNIPEG — First Nations in western Manitoba say they are determined not to allow a proposed Manitoba Hydro transmission line to cross their territories until Ottawa and the province complete an environmental audit of "past impacts and effects" of hydro operations on southern First Nations.

The First Nations made the announcement after a meeting earlier this week in Dauphin.

"Manitoba Hydro must be held to account for its past practices before it talks about going through our traditional territories for anything new," said Southern Chiefs Organization Grand Chief Morris J. Swan Shannacappo. Manitoba Hydro's activities have had a significant impact on southern Manitoba, first nations leaders say.

They say the relationship between the dams and economic consequences is not as obvious as in northern Manitoba, but impacts of artificial water levels has serious consequences in terms of flooding of First Nation lands and harvesting of traditional foods.

"We are going to be standing up for our treaty and standing together as treaty people. This gathering wasn't the end of something. It is the beginning," said Chief Derek Nepinak of Pine Creek First Nation.

Within Manitoba there are 16 First Nations that belong to either Treaty 2 or Treaty 4 territory. They are on the west side of the province or in the Interlake.

More than 50 First Nations people, many of them elders, are packing a downtown federal courtroom this morning, hoping to persuade a judge to make public more than 250 documents that could prove Ottawa culpable for the hydro-dam flooding that devastated three northern reserves.

The elders, from Grand Rapids, Chemawawin and Opaskwayak, will argue that Ottawa doesn't have the right to keep the documents confidential under provisions of lawyer-client priviledge.

"We have a problem," said Grand Rapids Chief Ovide Mercredi as court staff scrambled to accomodate the standing-room only crowd. "Too many Indians."

The case, which started in the early 1990s and has dragged on for years, began when the bands sued Ottawa for failing to protect their interests when Manitoba Hydro and the province built the Grand Rapids dam in the mid-1960s.

The case could be worth tens of millions in compensation to the bands, if the First Nations can prove Ottawa knew or ought to have known that it shirked its duty as the trustee of aboriginal people.

The hearing on the documents could take three days and it's possible the Canadian government will ask for the hearing to be held behind closed doors to protect the secrecy of the contested documents.

The Winnipeg Free Press is expected to opposed any attempt to go in-camera or impose a publication ban.

Some Manitoba cottage owners have joined forces with a First Nation to try stopping a power line project in Nopiming Provincial Park.

The 19-kilometre hydro line project, which received provincial approval in November following an environmental assessment report, is set to start in the spring and be completed by Sept. 30.

However, less than half of the 156 cottages in Long Lake and Beresford Lake will actually be hooked up. Only 72 cottagers have paid $10,000 fee.

'A complete pause is what is required and anything less than that would be to put a rubber stamp on this flawed process and that is wrong for all Manitobans.'-Brian Gudmundson

Cottage owner Brian Gudmundson, who opposes the plan, says Manitoba Hydro is trying to put in the power line without proper consultation or majority support.

The Sagkeeng First Nation also opposes the deal and has criticized the province for not consulting with them.

"A complete pause [of the project] is what is required and anything less than that would be to put a rubber stamp on this flawed process - and that is wrong for all Manitobans," said Gudmundson.

He added the rest of the $800,000 expense to put in the poles and lines and bring power to the area would be paid for by Manitoba taxpayers.

"We shouldn't be subsidizing a small number of elite cottage owners who are demanding subsidy from Manitoba Hydro," he said.

"This is wrong. We're not building a town site. This is a scattering of cottages in a remote park."

Currently, cottagers in the area, on the southeast side of Manitoba, along the border with Ontario, rely on gasoline-powered generators and use outhouses or composting toilets.

Gudmundson, along with other cottagers and the Sagkeeng leaders, are worried the project will lead to further development in the area.

Nopiming, in the Anishinabe language, literally means "entrance to the wilderness."

A group of native trappers and elders is suing Manitoba Hydro and the province for $64 million, compensation the trappers say they are owed for flooding that eradicated their livelihood and culture.

The trappers from the Chemawawin First Nation say flooding from the Grand Rapids dam has led to a 50 per cent drop in their standard of living and cost them and their families at least $64 million in lost income for as many as 118 trappers or their descendents. That's according to a statement of claim filed last month in the Court of Queen's Bench in The Pas.

Though Hydro paid to relocate the Chemawawin band in the mid-1960s and paid out millions in compensation since then, trappers like Malcolm Thomas, Fred Thomas and Edward Thomas say they were left out of that process.

But lawyer Brian Maronek, who is acting for the trappers, cautioned the statement of claim is largely a precautionary measure in case a new round of negotiations with Manitoba Hydro fail.

Talks broke off last fall after Hydro offered the trappers $6 million. The trappers were asking for $33 million.

Maronek said he is hoping talks resume later this month. The trappers are claiming a long list of damages spanning decades, including loss of income from trapping, damage to equipment, breach of treaty rights and the duty to consult, bad faith dealings, deceit and negligence on the part of Manitoba Hydro.

"Specifically, they knew that one of the best wildlife areas in North America would be destroyed and the damage would be catastrophic to the trappers," reads the claim.

Those claims have yet to be tested or proven in court and Manitoba Hydro has not yet been served notice of the potential lawsuit or filed a statement of defence. Grand Rapids, one of the first northern dams to be built, is among those that flooded First Nations land and created a costly legacy of mistrust between Hydro and First Nations that has only begun to improve in recent years as Hydro has sought genuine partnerships with northern bands.

Manitoba Hydro did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the lawsuit. Chemawawin Chief Clarence Easter said he's supportive of the trappers' attempts to win compensation from Hydro, but he said it might take too long. Many of the men are in their late 60s or 70s and a court case could drag on.

Easter said Hydro has not properly compensated band members for unforeseen impacts from the dam. And he said elders had little option but to relocated the band in the early 1960s.

maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca

Times of trouble

1957: Manitoba Hydro starts planning for the Grand Rapids dam, the first one built up north. It uses Cedar Lake as a forebay or reservoir, causing large-scale flooding that left about 500,000 acres of shoreline underwater.

1960: Manitoba Hydro starts negotiating with the Chemawawin band, a small, isolated community of about 350 people with no road access or electricity but a vibrant traditional trapping and hunting culture built on the fertile marshland where the Saskatchewan River turns into Cedar Lake.

1963: Chemawawin is relocated to a planned townsite at Easterville on the southeast shore of Cedar Lake. The town had power, running water, new homes and a collection of schools and recreation centres. But alcohol and drug abuse took hold as it became clear the new site, built on bedrock, was no good for traditional trapping, hunting and agricultural practices.

1968: The Grand Rapids dam opens, pumping 480 megawatts of power onto the grid.

1990, Manitoba Hydro signs a $13.7 million deal with Chemawawin to compensate the band for the outstanding effects of the dam.

2008: Feeling ignored and overlooked for decades, a group of trappers form a committee and begin negotiations with Hydro for compensation. They ask for $33 million, but Hydro offers $6 million.

Fall 2009: Talks break off.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 8, 2010 A6

I commend our provincial government and Manitoba Hydro for their commitment to keep the proposed major hydro corridor away from the intact boreal forest on the east side of Lake Winnipeg.

The assertion that a hydro line and an all-weather road would follow the same route on the east side of Lake Winnipeg has no basis in reality. Roads and hydro corridors have different terrain requirements and public access to transmission lines would be a security risk and increase disturbance to wildlife.

It’s also clear that east side communities will not receive any long term benefits from a major hydro pathway. Local communities would be unable to utilize power from the lines and any jobs created would be short-term positions such as putting up poles and clearing forest. Manitoba Hydro has stated quite clearly that sharing ownership of transmission lines is out of the question. Legal obligations with other utilities in Canada and the United States prevent this possibility.

The involved east side First Nations and the province are taking the right approach by pursuing a World Heritage Site on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. This designation will put the area on the world map as an international destination for eco and cultural tourism – two of the fastest growing industries in the world. As a major hydro corridor would provide little economic or social benefits to the communities and would negatively affect the environment and emerging tourism industry, it would reduce the chances of the east side being approved by the U.N. as a World Heritage Site.

Constructing a major hydro corridor elsewhere in the province may cost more initially but the long-term payback of keeping it away from the east side will far outweigh this factor. Local communities will have more opportunity for social, cultural, and economic benefits with a World Heritage Site and a communities-approved road that meets the best environmental standards possible.

Of great importance, the east side of Lake Winnipeg is part of the Earth’s largest intact section of boreal forest. The boreal forest is the world’s largest source of fresh water, the northern lungs of the planet, and as the largest terrestrial storehouse of carbon, it plays a huge role in slowing the advance of climate change. These ecological services are life-sustaining and essential to the healthy future of all life.

Ron Thiessen
Executive Director
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – Manitoba chapter

With the eyes of the world on Copenhagen this week, one Canadian entrepreneur is following the United Nations Summit on climate change particularly closely. Invenia CEO Matthew Hudson believes real environmental progress is possible with the click of a mouse, and he can prove it.

(PRWEB) December 10, 2009 -- With the eyes of the world on Copenhagen this week, one Canadian entrepreneur is following the United Nations Summit on climate change particularly closely. Invenia CEO Matthew Hudson believes real environmental progress is possible with the click of a mouse, and he can prove it.

“Coming out of the Summit there will be lots of momentum behind addressing climate change, but when the photo ops are over and the leaders are gone, there will be very little appetite to do anything that inhibits economic expansion. That’s a reality for developed economies like Canada and the US, as well as emerging ones like China and India.”

The magnitude of the issue can paralyze the process, with leaders unable to see solutions other than those requiring years to complete and enormous injections of capital. “A big part of the problem is that discussion has centred on the shift to emission free electricity generation, like wind and solar power. Those conversations are important and they need to happen, but wholesale change takes a lot of time, a lot of planning and a lot of money. If we’re serious about achieving real change, we also need to look for more efficient ways to get started.”

One way forward, according to Hudson, is Invenia’s Energy Intelligence System (EIS). Invenia began development of its EIS software in 2006, in order to help power utilities more effectively manage their operations. The forecasting and optimization software uses artificial intelligence to allow utilities to increase revenue from exports, decrease power imports, reduce fuel costs, and lower green house gas emissions associated with fossil fuel based electrical generation. At Invenia, wind energy is of particular interest. Global expansion has been rapid, with more than 150,000 MW of wind power in operation this year, up over 100 per cent from the 74,000 MW generated in 2006. The World Wind Energy Association predicts the amount of wind power will almost double again by 2012 to 290,000 MW worldwide. One complicating issue for wind is that it frequently requires backup power to be generated to make up for periods when it isn’t windy enough to produce power. With fossil fuel based generation accounting for 80% of electricity production, this means that even wind power results in some CO2 emissions.

Key countries in attendance at the Copenhagen Summit are among those leading the charge on the adoption of wind energy, says Hudson. “These are the countries we can help by enhancing their ability to integrate clean energy technologies such as wind power into their energy portfolios. By more effectively forecasting wind generation, and helping utilities to make better decisions, Invenia’s EIS allows them to increase revenue while reducing the amount of backup generation required. Based on the amount of wind power currently in operation around the world, the potential reduction in backup generation could reduce global CO2 emissions by as much as 35 Megatonnes annually. That’s equivalent to making New Zealand carbon neutral overnight.”

Hudson put his company’s technology to the test at Manitoba Hydro, one of Canada’s largest utilities, currently working with a 100 MW wind farm. Manitoba Hydro reported that the application of Invenia’s EIS had the potential to reduce its reserve cost by over $1 million per year, while effectively lowering its exposure to risk. Since earlier this year, the EIS has been in operation at Manitoba Hydro, and is achieving significant results.

With demonstrable results under its belt, the company has set its sights on the world market. Recently, Hudson spent ten days in South Africa meeting with government officials, industry leaders and representatives of the country’s electrical utilities. “We’re going to be working with our partners in South Africa to demonstrate the technology. What we’re planning to show them is that they can do more with what they already have, primarily allowing them to achieve lower power reserves, and more efficient operations.”

The Invenia EIS has the ability to track CO2 reductions that result from better wind power integration. It monitors the reduction in coal or natural gas burned to produce reserve energy, and tracks the quantifiable reduction in CO2 emissions, with no infrastructure changes or additional funding required.

“It is possible to do more with what we have, and still see substantial and immediate environmental improvements,” says Hudson. “At the same time we can work towards the continued adoption of sustainable energy sources on a global scale. Our work is an example of the sort of thing that can be done right now to make a meaningful difference.”

To schedule an interview, contact: Anne Bennett Media Relations, Invenia Phone: (204) 781-3368 www.invenia.ca

And Manitoba depends on the next generation of dams for export energy sales.

Hydro projects come with consequences. Nothing is clean and nothing is green, especially in this era of global warming. Negotiations are an integral part of the process to launch the three multibillion-dollar megaprojects: Conawapa, Keeyask and Wuskwatim.

To suggest there is something amiss with Hydro ratepayers bankrolling the process for First Nations ignores the legal and political realities of Manitoba's terrain and demographics -- the requirement for compensation to the people whose territory pays the biggest price for hydro development. (Similar to those whose homes flooded last spring. After all, it is the taxpayers who ultimately pay the compensation.)

The Northern Flood Agreement was Manitoba's Clayoquot Sound, except the consequences were borne by First Nations, not industrial loggers. The "B.C. War in the Woods" was paid for by loggers; "Manitoba's War of the Waters" was paid by First Nations.

The Northern Flood Agreement was Manitoba's answer, after the dams were built, to compensate First Nations for their losses.

The losses are almost incalculable in terms of lives, livelihoods, destruction of land, cultures, and local economies. The damage, along with historical factors like residential schools, are all part of the dysfunctions we see with every suicide and tragedy to this day.

Manitoba is taking a proactive stance with Conawapa, Keeyask and Wuskwatim by involving First Nations before the dams are built. The consequences of compensating First Nations for damages afterwards would be a lot higher than $160 million.

Governments in Canada are obligated by treaties to consult First Nations on issues that affect them. There are court cases that now recognize the value of traditional knowledge as well as fiduciary responsibilities, all of which add up to a hefty legal requirement to include First Nations in discussions about their traditional territories, which is the right thing to do by any government.

Poverty on First Nations means communities can't meet provincial requirements for legal and expert testimony to present their cases.

The system of negotiation requires information to be compiled in presentations that satisfy government and court requirements. The system is designed to balance off competing interests and find common ground in a way everyone can understand.

First Nations have paid in lives and livelihoods as a consequence of flooding due to reservoirs and water level regulations that interfere with the pursuit of trapping, hunting, fishing and other traditional activities. Far better to encompass the First Nations as equal partners. Nobody would say the playing field is now equal because of them, but we are working toward that goal.

In fact, $160 million is a bargain no matter how you look at it.

Take the cost of construction: Projected costs to build Wuskwatim are currently $1.3 billion while the deal with First Nations was $39.6 million as of November, approximately three per cent of the total cost. The estimated in-service cost for Conawapa is $5 billion, with First Nations receiving $1.5 million or 0.3 per cent. Keeyask's cost estimate is $4.6 billion while First Nations receive $109 million or just over two per cent. We also wanted to know the ultimate payout from hydro development of First Nation resources.

In 2008, Manitoba signed a $2-billion power deal with Wisconsin and pegged projected revenues from the new northern megaprojects at $5.5 billion over 10 years.

With exports representing approximately 40 per cent of total revenues, that means hydro revenue works out to $1.48 billion a year.

For people who worry there is an aboriginal industry getting rich off regulatory requirements for consultation and accommodation, we'd ask them to consider whether society should work with us or against us. We prefer partnership as we have always done. Remember the treaties.

Ron Evans is the grand chief of the Manitoba Assembly of Chiefs.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 7, 2009 A12