We believe in developing meaningful and mutually beneficial working relationships with Indigenous Peoples and communities across the province. We provide service to 135 communities across BC including 57 First Nations communities and our natural gas and electricity infrastructures cross more than 150 traditional territories. We’re proud to work closely with municipalities and First Nations communities to find opportunities to save money and reduce emissions, and come together to celebrate civic pride and diverse cultures and histories. By investing in our communities, we are strengthening our province and helping communities grow and prosper to create a more sustainable future for British Columbia.
Collaborating with municipalities to meet climate action goals
We work with municipalities across the province to understand their energy needs and support them with improving energy efficiency because together we can progress toward meeting BC’s climate action goals. One of the municipalities we worked closely with in 2019 was the City of Surrey. The City’s climate and energy specialist, a position funded by FortisBC through the Climate Action Partners program,
identified these energy and cost saving upgrades. This program helps
municipalities identify opportunities to improve energy efficiency and
help meet climate action goals. Similarly, later in 2019, the Regional
District of Kootenay Boundary hired
a senior energy specialist through this program who is responsible
for developing and implementing a greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction plan
tailored to the district. This plan includes connecting with local
residents and businesses about how to affordably
reduce emissions through our commercial and residential rebate
programs. To date, this plan has created an uptake in our Energy
Conservation Assistance Program and found energy efficiency
opportunities that qualify for our rebates within community
buildings.
Building opportunities for local businesses
Over the last five years completing the Lower Mainland natural gas line upgrades, we spent approximately $74 million on local contractors. It was important for us to work with dedicated contractors that are helping support local workers. During this project we worked closely with Port Coquitlam-based Brymark Installations Group Inc. and Coquitlam-based Jack Cewe Construction Ltd. - a civil construction contractor known for their support of women working in the trades.
Similar to the program we initiated when working on East 1st Avenue in Vancouver, we supported and connected with local shops and services in Burnaby and Coquitlam to tell their stories through our website and customer newsletter to let residents know they remained open during construction. We helped spread the word that a popular local meeting spot, CuppaJoe Coffee in Burnaby, continued to welcome customers while construction was underway along Lougheed Highway. We also purchased and gave away gift cards to encourage people to visit these local businesses.
And while the project may have concluded, we continued to help some local initiatives to show our lasting appreciation for the support of area residents during construction. To thank residents for their patience and cooperation during this project, we helped paint the crosswalks on Commercial Drive the colours of the Italian flag just in time for Italian Day celebrations. We also helped fund a pollinator garden, filled with flowering plants that supply food for pollinator insects like bees, at the bottom of Burnaby Mountain.
Two of our employees, Melissa Graham, environmental specialist (left) and Alex Munro, corporate communications advisor (right), were part of the team who helped bring this pollinator garden to life.
Investing in our communities
Every year, we’re proud to support the communities where we live and work by contributing to initiatives that benefit children, support the trades, protect the environment, promote safety, contribute to Indigenous cultures and more. One initiative we undertook in 2019 was supporting upgrades to the Children’s Health Centre facility at the Surrey Memorial Hospital. We donated $25,000 to help create larger family-friendly spaces including more clinics and additional overnight rooms to ensure more children could receive the care they need, surrounded by family.
Beyond our annual Community Investment program, every year we accept nominations from around BC to provide three Community Giving awards of $15,000 each to worthy organizations. At the Union of BC Municipalities Convention, we announced 2019’s winners: the West Creston Fire Protection Society, Len Wood Middle School and Hulitan Family and Community Services Society.
One very special day happened in April, when some of our employees on Vancouver Island visited Beecher Bay, home of the Scia’new First Nation, to spend a day learning about the significance of drums in Indigenous culture with The Beecher Bay Youth Drum Group. This drum group can have up to 30 members for any given performance yet they only had four drums to share. Through our Community Investment program, we gifted 35 new drums to the community and helped the members of the group create their very own drum along with members of the M’akola Group of Societies and other residents of Beecher Bay.
Darrin Crozier, regional manager (left) and Rob Bradbeer, operations manager (right), were two of our employees who learned more about the Sci’new culture through drum making, giving them a deeper understanding and appreciation of Indigenous cultures and values.
Working with Indigenous communities
To show our commitment to Reconciliation and building stronger relationships with Indigenous Peoples, we’ve taken the first step in the Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) certification process. In 2019, we became a PAR Committed member, which means we’re striving to maintain long term and sustainable relationships with Indigenous Peoples and find ways to continue enhancing this commitment year-over-year.
As we move forward with this commitment, we acknowledge that Indigenous Peoples have unique histories and cultures and these are shared between members of different generations. The Royal BC Museum, with sponsorship support from FortisBC, digitized many Indigenous photographs and audio tapes, giving community members easier access to share these significant and historic materials.
The Westbank First Nation Siya Celebration in the Okanagan was a great opportunity for our employees to deepen their understanding of the First Nations communities we serve and better appreciate Indigenous cultures and traditions.
Understanding the local traditions of Indigenous Peoples is important to developing deeper connections. We had the opportunity to help Ladysmith Secondary School with a donation toward the Nutsumaat Syaays Welcome Figure, supporting local traditions of Indigenous communities.
We continue to build a strong partnership with the Squamish Nation and in 2019 signed an economic agreement that included a range of economic, employment and training opportunities. This agreement is an important step forward in our relationship with the Squamish Nation and ensures they will benefit as true partners in our Eagle Mountain – Woodfibre Gas Pipeline project.
We work directly with First Nations communities to support them in developing and implementing emergency response plans that are tailored to meet their specific community’s needs. This includes working with the First Nations Emergency Service Society (FNESS) and underscores our commitment to safety. Every year we are grateful for the opportunity to communicate openly with many First Nations communities throughout BC at the annual FNESS Safety Expo, where we provide educational sessions and training for emergencies involving natural gas and electricity.
1 Based on participants saving an average of 330 gigajoules of natural gas a year. Source: FortisBC completed pilot projects