Chiefs Steering Committee on the Ontario-Manitoba Hydro Grid updates
The Chiefs' Steering Committee wishes to announce the upcoming Leadership Review Meeting about the work completed to date. The meeting will take place on March 20, 21, 22, 2007 at the Travelodge Airlane in Thunder Bay.
Communications Team Bulletin # 8– December 21, 2006
Completed forty-eight (48) Treaty # 9, Treaty #5 (Ontario Portion) and Affiliated First Nations community visits.
Communities that were visited but were unable to provide an information session:
Moose Factory, Moose Cree, Mocreebec
Communities that were unable to visit are as follows:
Koocheching, Kashechewan
Leadership Review Meeting
March 20, 21, 22, 2007
Travelodge Airlane – Thunder Bay
Frequently Asked Questions:
How long will the construction development take if it’s approved?
A: If all future short and long-term phases of the project are included (planning and decision making, permitting, procurement, construction and operation and maintenance of the power line), the steps could take up to five (7) to ten (10) years to complete, before the transmission line is operational.
If you cannot connect to the transmission line: what is the point of having the transmission line in our traditional lands?
A: Communities could have opportunities for training, employment, ownership, revenue sharing, business development and service contracts as well as looking at secondary lines and/or semi-permanent roads for those communities considering such options.
CSC Meeting with Deputy Minister – Thunder Bay, December 18, 2006
The Chiefs Steering Committee met with the James Gillis, Deputy Minister of Energy in Thunder Bay on December 18, 2006. The meeting provided participants with an update on the Regional Communication and Community Engagement Strategy as well as initiated some planning for the Leadership Review Meeting. The tentative date for the Leadership Review Meeting is late March 2007 in Thunder Bay to determine if there is a preferred route chosen by the First Nations along one of the proposed routings. Once a decision is made to move forward, on a preferred route, with First Nation conditions and/or principles, then a number of studies will be commissioned.
Wawatay radio will rebroadcast some of the previous CSC radio shows during the Holidays
For more information please call Tracey Willoughby, Communications Assistant at 1 (800) 465-6821 or visit our website at www.chiefssteeringcommittee.com
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Communications Team Bulletin # 9– December 22, 2006
POINTS TO REMEMBER:
- No negotiations have taken place between the CSC and Ministry of Energy. We are at the pre-development stage.
- Chiefs Steering Committee is not a decision making body. The CSC is in place to oversee the process and inform the communities, both the leadership and community level.
- No routes have been chosen for further study until a decision is made at the Leadership Review Meeting, March 2007.
- Community Information Officers provided communities with the findings of the SNC-Lavalin/McLeod Woods & Associates’ study related to CETI potential, which can be found and downloaded from the CSC website.
- Once a decision has been made for a preferred route, then a series of studies will be commissioned to see if the route chosen is feasible.
- Communities can put forward conditions and principles in providing approval to conduct more studies on a preferred option.
- The only negotiations that are occurring right now are between the two provinces Manitoba and Ontario on a Power Purchase Agreement (a long term energy contract)
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. What happens next? (If a preferred route is chosen)
A Ontario government still needs to reach an agreement with Manitoba on the power to be purchased. If and when that is in place, the government will need to review the proposed power purchase agreement and the possible line routing options, including initial views on a preferred routing from First Nations, to decide whether to proceed. Part of that decision would be who will conduct the studies.
If and when the Ontario government and NAN First Nations have decided to proceed with certain conditions and principles set out by the First Nations, then a series of studies would commence on the preferred routing. Formal and extensive government consultations with affected First Nations along the preferred route would start to take place at this time. This stage could take several years as Environmental Assessments can take 3 to 5 years. In addition, if there was an approval by all parties for the large scale transmission project and if formal consultations and approval processes were completed, then construction of the line would start which could take another 3 to 5 years. In other words, the total time lines for the study phase, the planning process, regulatory approvals, and construction of the line is between 12-15 years before any in-service targeted date can be reached.
The Chiefs Steering Committee would like to wish everyone a Safe and Happy Holiday Season.
For more information please call Tracey Willoughby, Communications Assistant at 1 (800) 465-6821 or visit our website at www.chiefssteeringcommittee.com
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Communications Team Bulletin # 10– January 24, 2007
POINTS TO REMEMBER:
No negotiations have taken place between the CSC and Ministry of Energy. We are at the pre-development stage.
The Manitoba government has announced it will go ahead and build a $2-billion hydroelectric power generation station at the Conawapa River site located in northern Manitoba.
- Communities will provide direction to their leadership, who will be attending the Leadership Review Meeting in Thunder Bay, to decide if there is interest in pursuing this project.
- The Ontario government hasn’t decided anything except that it wants more power to meet future energy needs.
- No routes have been chosen for further study until a decision is made at the Leadership Review Meeting, March 2007.
- Should the First Nations agree on a preferred route, and it is deemed feasible, a series of studies will be commissioned.
- Information on the Ontario-Manitoba Transmission Line Study can be found and downloaded from the CSC website.
- Should there be more than one (1) route preferred by communities only one (1) will be studied to assess its viability.
- Communities can put forward conditions and principles in providing consent to a preferred option.
- The only negotiations currently taking are between the two provinces of Manitoba and Ontario on a Power Purchase Agreement.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. What kind of compensation package would we get?
If a feasibility study is done on a preferred route, and if there is a business case for the construction of a transmission line, then a compensation package by the First Nations can be negotiated. Negotiated packages will depend on the decision made by communities through elected leadership and the approach they wish to take as well as the level of participation they would be comfortable with.
Compensation packages could include potential compensation and/or financial participation, employment, training, business, economic development opportunities or possible long term solutions for community energy needs.
For more information please contact Tracey Willoughby, Communications Assistant at 1-800-465-6821 or visit our website at
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Communications Team Bulletin # 11– January 24, 2007
POINTS TO REMEMBER:
- Manitoba government has announced it will go ahead and build a $2-billion hydroelectric power generation station at the Conawapa River site located in northern Manitoba.
- Communities will give direction to their leadership; these leaders will come to the Leadership Review Meeting March 20, 21 & 22, 2007 in Thunder Bay to decide if there is interest in pursuing this project.
- Information on the Ontario Manitoba Transmission Line Study can be found and downloaded from the CSC website.
- Communities can put forward conditions and principles in providing consent to a preferred option.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Would this bring employment and training for our people?
A: Should a preferred route be chosen and deemed feasible then the responsibility for managing and sourcing all human resources could be delegated to a First Nations agency. Community members will be able to do right-of-way of clearing, road and facility construction. Jobs and contracts associated with supporting the work-camp and out-of-town worker may include accommodations and catering. There will be opportunities for linesmen and apprenticeships. Local distribution companies will need management and administration. Cash flow within the communities will make it possible for more businesses to open, providing goods and services to the community as well as creating more jobs.
Can we plug into it?
A: Transformer substations to either step up and step down ‘power’ is very expensive for a 500 kv transmission line. So it is not really feasible for a community to plug into the transmission line of this size.
Connection to CETI is not impossible, just prohibitively expensive, and may not be the best solution to the problem. However, even if a connection is not deemed to be economically feasible, the First Nation requirements for a grid based system to service the remote communities is still a high priority for the First Nations, and in fact, may be part of the cost of achieving their approval for the CETI line to be constructed. This can be negotiated as part of the conditions & principals in a negotiated compensation package for allowing the transmission route to be studied, so that the long term solutions to first nation energy needs can be addressed.
For more information please call Tracey Willoughby, Communications Assistant at 1 (800) 465-6821 or visit our website at
www.chiefssteeringcommittee.comwww.chiefssteeringcommittee.com