A freshly inked deal with the Tsawwassen First Nation to expand the Deltaport Container Terminal will give others confidence to do business with First Nations, says former B.C. premier Mike Harcourt.
“It says that we’ve got to establish a new relationship (with First Nations) that’s based on mutual benefit, understanding and trust,” Harcourt, now a commissioner of the B.C. Treaty Commission, said during an interview with Business Edge.
The Vancouver Port Authority (VPA) and the Tsawwassen (TFN) have signed a $47-million agreement that actively involves the TFN in the expansion of the superport on Roberts Bank near the Canada-U.S. boundary.
TFN Chief Kim Baird said the agreement heralds a new era of economic co-operation between First Nations and Canada’s business community. “This deal not only provides justice to the TFN community for resolving long-outstanding issues, but it also provides us with the opportunity to build a much-needed climate of economic development for Tsawwassen people,” Baird said.
“All the money is earmarked for TFN people and for economic development, jobs and higher education. Under this deal, we will be partners in development of our own lands and our marine resources.”
Harcourt founded the treaty commission in 1993 while he was still premier.
He also served for five years on the board of the port authority, before leaving earlier this year, and was involved in negotiations between the VPA and TFN on Deltaport before the agreement was reached.
The deal will help eliminate financial costs and uncertainty that often hamper business deals with First Nations, added Harcourt, while also showing how First Nations and other parties can develop win-win relationships.
Harcourt pointed to a 1991 study that showed B.C. was losing $1 billion of investment per year that went elsewhere because of the absence of treaties and lack of First Nations involvement in development projects.
Under the terms of the Deltaport agreement, the TFN will drop its three-year-old lawsuit against the port authority and other government agencies over the degradation of a 15-sq.-kilometre tidal flat where First Nation members conducted traditional crab fishing.
TFN members will receive the benefits of a $10-million joint venture investment fund that, according to the TFN’s website, will make the First Nation “a full partner in future port developments.”
“It’s a huge benefit (to the Port of Vancouver) because the container traffic in North America is going to triple over the next while,” said Harcourt, adding Vancouver is one of the key ports in that expansion.
The First Nation and port authority had been at odds with each other since Deltaport was created in the 1960s.
The deal promises to provide TFN with $2 million in compensation for past environmental impact, $2.5 million for future development and $2.5 for impact-mitigation efforts.
TFN will also receive $4 million in construction contracts, $1.8 million in construction jobs and five full-time operations jobs.
TFN members, most of whom are under the age of 25 and live in families that report around $20,000 in annual incomes, are also expected to receive an education benefit.
The 290-hectare TFN reserve is located in Delta on the south end of the Strait of Georgia, between the Tsawwassen ferry terminal and Deltaport’s container and coal port. The TFN’s 330 members will vote Nov. 29 to ratify or reject the agreement.
Baird later told Business Edge that the turning point in the negotiations, which took two years, came in the latter stages when the port authority offered the $10-million investment fund – at a time when negotiations had almost broken down.
Baird said most of the comments that she has heard from members are positive.
But the TFN still has a “real difficulty” with the deal because, in all likelihood, they can no longer exercise their traditional rights to fish for crab and other shellfish as a result of the ferry terminal and Deltaport’s impacts since the 1960s.
“Some folks, I guess you could say, have hard feelings about that,” said Baird.
She said TFN members can’t even walk on the beach because of all the silt sedimentation that has built up.
The agreement does not fix the situation, she said, but it does recognize the impacts of the ferry terminal and Deltaport, and the $2.5 million in impact mitigation may allow TFN members to conduct some fishing.
“I think (the deal) is a good signal about the need for First Nations and the business community to sort out some of these issues,” said Baird.
Although the deal is not the first of its kind and the exact terms cannot serve as a model, Baird suggested it was an important step in the economic development of First Nations.
“I think it’s important that these types of agreements continue to occur so First Nations can take advantage of business opportunities that are happening in our frontyards, so to speak,” said Baird.
The Deltaport deal comes at a time when industry – especially the oil and gas sector – is seeking guidance from government on how to deal with First Nations, because of uncertainty surrounding native land rights, traditional hunting and fishing rights, and potential environmental impact.
B.C. only has one aboriginal treaty in place – the Nisga’a treaty that transferred 1,992 square kilometres of land and $165.7 million to the 5,500-member Nisga’a band in northern B.C. – but it was signed outside the treaty process. Harcourt said four treaties will be “ready” in the next year and another 12 agreements in principle will be completed over 2005-06.
TFN has signed an agreement in principle and, according to its website, “is currently in intense sessions to negotiate B.C.’s first urban treaty.”
Baird said the Deltaport deal will put an end to the litigation that too often defines the relationship between aboriginals and non-aboriginals.
Lawsuits are a major cause for concern among the private sector, because companies are often included in legal action that First Nations bring against government.
Business organizations, especially oil and gas companies, say they are willing to play by the rules when it comes to dealing with First Nations on resource development, but private firms often do not know what the rules are because of uncertainty surrounding land and resource rights, and a lack of treaties.
“We recognize that the Roberts Bank facility is critically important to Canada’s economic well-being,” said Baird.
“Now, as equal partners, we will be doing business together, protecting our land and marine environment together.”
Harcourt said the turning point in the TFN and port authority’s attitudes toward each other came when they realized the expanded port could be a huge benefit to the port authority, the rest of Canada and First Nations.
“I think it is the megaproject for B.C.,” said Harcourt, adding the advantage of treaties and other joint ventures is that everybody in B.C will benefit from the revenue generated.
Deltaport could generate $40 billion in revenue for the province over the next 20 years, he estimated.
“You can’t just put up (the cost of arranging treaties) – you’ve got to put up the credits,” said Harcourt, adding the return will be 10-15 times the financial outlay.
He said deals involving private-sector firms and First Nations do not have to be within the treaty process – in other words, after a First Nation has signed a treaty with the provincial government and Ottawa. Despite the absence of treaties, oil and gas, forestry and other private sectors have signed deals with First Nations.
But, the former premier predicted, most business deals will occur after treaties are done.
“(The Deltaport deal) complements the treaty process,” said Harcourt. “Two-thirds or three-quarters of the resource that First Nations need to become self-sufficient and self-governing will come through the treaty process.”
The other one-third will come from joint ventures between First Nations, governments and the private sector, he added.
Treaties and joint ventures with First Nations, he said, will be a major benefit to rural B.C. and help West Coast communities hurt by the softwood lumber dispute and other economic hardships. He urged the private sector to develop closer ties, and develop mutually beneficial projects, with First Nations.
Jerry Lampert, president and CEO of the Business Council of B.C., said the Deltaport deal sets a positive example for business. He said the agreement helps the TFN achieve its aspirations and includes a commercial investment that makes sure the port grows as it should.
“It sets another example of what can be done when the parties sit down and work out an agreement,” said Lampert.
He agreed with Chief Baird’s view that the Deltaport deal will bring an end to the litigious nature of the relationship between aboriginals and non-aboriginals.
The more working arrangements between business and First Nations that are created, the more trust is developed, said Lampert.
“The reality is, if you’re working on the landmass in any way, shape or form, these days, you have to include First Nations,” said Lampert.
But Lampert said there is nothing wrong with proceeding with business relationships outside of treaties.
“Our ultimate goal, though, is to see all the treaties resolved,” said Lampert.
“But it’s going to take a long time.”
(Monte Stewart can be reached at monte@businessedge.ca)
