WEBVTT 00:00:10.250 --> 00:00:12.910 Hi, Rob. Great to be back in the studio with 00:00:12.910 --> 00:00:15.230 you. You're very fortunate because I think you're 00:00:15.230 --> 00:00:17.629 back in cottage country in Canada. Where exactly 00:00:17.629 --> 00:00:21.089 are you? Sago, Mark. I am between Toronto and 00:00:21.089 --> 00:00:23.609 Montreal, just across the bay from Te Andenega 00:00:23.609 --> 00:00:27.250 in the Mohawks of Bay of Quinte, where my family 00:00:27.250 --> 00:00:31.609 is from. Great. Well, actually, I went to university 00:00:31.609 --> 00:00:35.229 in Kingston, so it's not far from there for those 00:00:35.229 --> 00:00:37.009 who even know where that is at the top end of 00:00:37.009 --> 00:00:40.170 Lake Ontario. Of course, I'm over here still 00:00:40.170 --> 00:00:42.789 in East London, basking in the English heat. 00:00:43.070 --> 00:00:45.590 Nothing but cool temperatures and rain for the 00:00:45.590 --> 00:00:47.609 past few weeks. And today, of course, you know, 00:00:47.609 --> 00:00:52.810 we hit, I think, 31 degrees. So natural gas continues 00:00:52.810 --> 00:00:56.450 to be the core energy source here for air conditioners, 00:00:56.450 --> 00:00:58.909 if you're lucky to have one. I mean, wind and 00:00:58.909 --> 00:01:03.530 solar are on the horizon. Well, speaking of energy, 00:01:03.630 --> 00:01:06.909 Mark. Yes, you are. We're very fortunate today 00:01:06.909 --> 00:01:10.319 to have with us. Chief Crystal Smith of the Haisla 00:01:10.319 --> 00:01:14.900 Nation, a very busy woman who wears many hats. 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:19.480 She's a mother, first and foremost. She's a grandmother, 00:01:19.659 --> 00:01:22.420 and she is the Chief Councillor of the Haisla 00:01:22.420 --> 00:01:24.519 Nation on the West Coast to British Columbia. 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:28.019 As well as her role as Chief, she also sits on 00:01:28.019 --> 00:01:33.439 the board of CEDAR LNG, and we will talk more 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:37.810 about CEDAR in the podcast. She sits on other 00:01:37.810 --> 00:01:41.069 boards as well, things like First Nations LNG 00:01:41.069 --> 00:01:46.329 Alliance, Cool Power, and the list goes on and 00:01:46.329 --> 00:01:48.250 on. So we are very fortunate that she's spending 00:01:48.250 --> 00:01:52.250 a few minutes with us today. And welcome to our 00:01:52.250 --> 00:01:56.650 podcast, Drumbeats. Welcome, Chief Crystal. It 00:01:56.650 --> 00:02:00.829 is great to have you with us today. Thank you 00:02:00.829 --> 00:02:04.909 for having me. Super. It's really a pleasure 00:02:04.909 --> 00:02:07.989 to have you here. Chief Crystal, to begin the 00:02:07.989 --> 00:02:10.389 podcast, why don't you tell us a little bit about 00:02:10.389 --> 00:02:13.490 yourself and your personal story and how you 00:02:13.490 --> 00:02:15.770 came to be Chief Councillor of the Haisla Nation? 00:02:16.949 --> 00:02:21.189 I was born here in BC. I was born in Vancouver 00:02:21.189 --> 00:02:25.430 alongside my identical twin sister, but raised 00:02:25.430 --> 00:02:28.590 here in community for the majority of the... 00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:33.900 My 45 years, I've lived in our beautiful territory 00:02:33.900 --> 00:02:38.520 here in Kitimat Village. I'm the oldest sibling 00:02:38.520 --> 00:02:44.199 of four of us. I have two... beautiful, amazing 00:02:44.199 --> 00:02:47.280 daughters, Ashley, who will be 22 in September. 00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:52.280 And I've got Emily, who is 17, going into her 00:02:52.280 --> 00:02:55.060 last year of high school. And I'm also a very, 00:02:55.099 --> 00:02:58.740 very proud grandmother to Xavier, who is five, 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:02.680 six, six years old. And I've got a two -year 00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:07.919 -old grandson named Luca. So in terms of becoming 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:12.979 a part of our elected representatives, was actually 00:03:12.979 --> 00:03:19.500 the executive assistant from 2009 to 2013, and 00:03:19.500 --> 00:03:25.740 actually was the EA to our first female chief 00:03:25.740 --> 00:03:29.800 counsellor, Dolores Pollard, and quickly was 00:03:29.800 --> 00:03:35.900 learning in my role what was changing for our 00:03:35.900 --> 00:03:39.620 nation in terms of the economic opportunities 00:03:39.620 --> 00:03:44.939 that surrounded us. After her term from 2009 00:03:44.939 --> 00:03:48.740 to 2011, I was then the executive assistant to 00:03:48.740 --> 00:03:51.419 the chief counselor, our previous chief counselor, 00:03:51.500 --> 00:03:57.300 Ellis Ross, and learned very quickly in terms 00:03:57.300 --> 00:04:02.120 of how drastically fast our environment around 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:05.740 us was changing. and what the opportunities for 00:04:05.740 --> 00:04:09.419 our people participating in major projects in 00:04:09.419 --> 00:04:12.919 our territory was, and had had a conversation 00:04:12.919 --> 00:04:16.279 with him after he spoke at an event in Vancouver 00:04:16.279 --> 00:04:19.459 and expressed my interest to become more a part 00:04:19.459 --> 00:04:22.939 of the decision -making team as opposed to the 00:04:22.939 --> 00:04:26.560 support staff that supported them, and had decided 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:32.230 to run in the 2013 election. And was successful 00:04:32.230 --> 00:04:36.490 in getting a four -year term, which 2013 was 00:04:36.490 --> 00:04:40.689 the first year we implemented our new custom 00:04:40.689 --> 00:04:43.310 election code that gave us four -year terms as 00:04:43.310 --> 00:04:47.930 opposed to the old two -year terms. In 2016, 00:04:49.449 --> 00:04:52.329 Ellis unfortunately decided that he was going 00:04:52.329 --> 00:04:56.449 to run for... unfortunate for us, that he decided 00:04:56.449 --> 00:04:59.089 he was going to run for provincial politics and 00:04:59.089 --> 00:05:03.709 left his chair as the chief councillor about 00:05:03.709 --> 00:05:08.990 eight months early. So I had, along with our 00:05:08.990 --> 00:05:12.170 elected council at the time, had decided that 00:05:12.170 --> 00:05:15.750 I would be the interim acting chief councillor 00:05:15.750 --> 00:05:18.769 for the remaining eight months of that term. 00:05:18.870 --> 00:05:22.490 And then in 2017, decided to take the plunge 00:05:22.490 --> 00:05:26.699 and become elected and was successful in 2017. 00:05:27.180 --> 00:05:31.000 And I've gone through two elections for this 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:37.220 seat and was successful in both. Chief, I'm interested 00:05:37.220 --> 00:05:40.139 in going a little bit back to your childhood 00:05:40.139 --> 00:05:43.500 and wondering what was life like growing up in 00:05:43.500 --> 00:05:47.120 Kitimat and what were the opportunities like? 00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:50.279 Did you always dream of being Chief Councillor? 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:59.600 Had you considered going? No, no. I find that 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:06.579 question a little bit funny today as I reflect. 00:06:06.939 --> 00:06:10.480 I did not vision that I would be anywhere near 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:13.680 a part of our elected leadership here in our 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:22.899 community. I grew up with my grandparents. Lived 00:06:22.899 --> 00:06:26.459 on the front in our community. That's right beside 00:06:26.459 --> 00:06:29.620 the ocean. I grew up right on the waterfront 00:06:29.620 --> 00:06:34.180 here. And basketball was a large part and still 00:06:34.180 --> 00:06:39.600 is a huge, large part in our community. So I 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:45.819 started playing when I was nine and played up 00:06:45.819 --> 00:06:51.149 until about three years ago. So obviously it's 00:06:51.149 --> 00:06:53.949 a large part of my memory. That's a large part 00:06:53.949 --> 00:06:58.310 of my life here in community is the time that 00:06:58.310 --> 00:07:00.850 I dedicated to playing and representing our community. 00:07:03.490 --> 00:07:06.769 But as I was growing up, you know, it wasn't 00:07:06.769 --> 00:07:11.790 a time where most, if not, were not proud to 00:07:11.790 --> 00:07:14.550 be Indigenous. You know, we would have a very 00:07:14.550 --> 00:07:19.120 difficult history in our country. And that was 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:23.439 reflected through racism, simply because of, 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:28.040 you know, the impacts that colonialism had in 00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:32.120 our community around residential schools, the 00:07:32.120 --> 00:07:37.339 60 scoops. It left a huge mark in our communities 00:07:37.339 --> 00:07:41.120 when it came to the social impacts that we grew 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:44.699 up, that I grew up witnessing in our communities. 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:49.560 You know, a large part of it was alcoholism. 00:07:49.660 --> 00:07:54.699 And, you know, I often remember growing up hearing 00:07:54.699 --> 00:07:59.160 about statistics about how, you know, our community 00:07:59.160 --> 00:08:03.000 school wasn't as up to par. And if we went into 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:06.139 high school, that our students were failing and 00:08:06.139 --> 00:08:09.319 there was no supports being provided to us. So 00:08:09.319 --> 00:08:12.910 there wasn't an environment that was... around 00:08:12.910 --> 00:08:16.449 our youth at the time that really fostered success. 00:08:16.810 --> 00:08:20.829 It was more hearing the negative aspect of everything 00:08:20.829 --> 00:08:26.829 which meant to be Indigenous. So as I grew up, 00:08:26.829 --> 00:08:29.050 I was fortunate enough to have my stepfather 00:08:29.050 --> 00:08:32.870 who was very focused on education. He had gone 00:08:32.870 --> 00:08:36.289 to university earlier in his life and was very 00:08:36.289 --> 00:08:39.730 successful. He talked to my twin and I about 00:08:39.730 --> 00:08:42.690 how important it was to finish high school and 00:08:42.690 --> 00:08:47.110 further education. But when you grow up with 00:08:47.110 --> 00:08:50.669 that type of expectation already set from society, 00:08:51.049 --> 00:08:54.629 you don't have the inspiration to aim higher. 00:08:54.830 --> 00:09:00.590 And I felt that tremendously. So in growing up 00:09:00.590 --> 00:09:03.789 in our community, I would often walk by our old 00:09:03.789 --> 00:09:09.350 band office. And I think that's probably my only 00:09:09.350 --> 00:09:14.909 option is to work there. So I often pictured 00:09:14.909 --> 00:09:17.529 myself either working as the front desk receptionist 00:09:17.529 --> 00:09:24.909 or as a janitor one day. The only other opportunities 00:09:24.909 --> 00:09:28.169 that were here in our territory were being a 00:09:28.169 --> 00:09:31.990 teacher at a local school or working in what 00:09:31.990 --> 00:09:37.139 was referred to as ALCAN. So I, I chose the, 00:09:37.240 --> 00:09:40.399 I envisioned myself working in the band office 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:44.240 and I, you know, eventually I found myself as 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:49.919 an executive assistant here, here in our administration 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:54.120 office. It doesn't sound like, yeah, you were 00:09:54.120 --> 00:09:58.220 driven with sort of leadership goals. Were you, 00:09:58.259 --> 00:10:02.139 were you always captain of the basketball team 00:10:02.139 --> 00:10:08.620 or were you? And yet here you are, chief councillor 00:10:08.620 --> 00:10:11.200 in Canada, you have a number of other boards 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:16.139 doing really interesting things in economic development 00:10:16.139 --> 00:10:20.320 space with Indigenous participation and ownership. 00:10:21.539 --> 00:10:24.840 And so that's a bit of an inspiration, I would 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:27.019 think, to a lot of people who might not see themselves 00:10:27.019 --> 00:10:31.919 as born leaders, but who become and develop into 00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:38.029 leaders like yourself. Yeah, it's been an interesting 00:10:38.029 --> 00:10:41.669 journey for sure. I remember when I was first 00:10:41.669 --> 00:10:45.429 elected as a council member and I had already 00:10:45.429 --> 00:10:48.269 established these relationships with some of 00:10:48.269 --> 00:10:53.250 our external advisors that we had with the nation. 00:10:53.350 --> 00:10:56.570 And I remember two of them reaching out to me 00:10:56.570 --> 00:11:00.049 to say congratulations. And I had mentioned that 00:11:00.049 --> 00:11:01.929 I was going to be chief councillor one day and 00:11:01.929 --> 00:11:05.659 I had some very colourful choices. of words for 00:11:05.659 --> 00:11:09.059 them and, and thought, yeah, I'd never, I'd never 00:11:09.059 --> 00:11:11.360 be that brave to take on that role because I 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:14.440 I'd seen what our two previous chief counselors 00:11:14.440 --> 00:11:18.860 had to endure, um, not only externally, but, 00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:21.519 but more importantly, internally within our community, 00:11:21.639 --> 00:11:25.240 uh, and, and never would have thought or, or 00:11:25.240 --> 00:11:28.940 had taken on, uh, such, such a role. And it, 00:11:29.019 --> 00:11:33.019 you know, We're very fortunate to have the community 00:11:33.019 --> 00:11:38.299 behind us when it comes to the success that our 00:11:38.299 --> 00:11:41.960 nation has seen this far in terms of participating 00:11:41.960 --> 00:11:45.100 within the economy. And a large part of that 00:11:45.100 --> 00:11:51.220 is their blessing. to be able to pursue these 00:11:51.220 --> 00:11:54.419 economic opportunities. And without their support, 00:11:54.539 --> 00:11:57.120 our community would not be where we're at today. 00:11:57.259 --> 00:12:00.700 So I absolutely am fortunate to be in this position 00:12:00.700 --> 00:12:04.080 during this time, but I definitely give credit 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:08.639 to our members that allowed this success to happen. 00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:12.620 Well, there might be a book on leadership lessons 00:12:12.620 --> 00:12:15.879 then coming from Chief and you and others about 00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:19.950 how Indigenous leaders rise up to the challenges 00:12:19.950 --> 00:12:21.789 and where they come from in the community because 00:12:21.789 --> 00:12:24.029 I think you know it's a long -standing debate 00:12:24.029 --> 00:12:26.070 how are leaders made and I think the other thing 00:12:26.070 --> 00:12:27.990 that you talked about when you're when you're 00:12:27.990 --> 00:12:29.710 growing up and there was some research actually 00:12:29.710 --> 00:12:32.409 it was just in the London Times earlier in the 00:12:32.409 --> 00:12:35.470 week and it talked that the the greatest determinant 00:12:35.470 --> 00:12:39.789 of success of a community is do people feel that 00:12:39.789 --> 00:12:41.850 there's opportunities when they're growing up 00:12:42.700 --> 00:12:44.820 And that's just what you were talking about when 00:12:44.820 --> 00:12:46.440 you were growing up. You didn't feel that the 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:48.820 way, you know, you, you hope to be the receptionist, 00:12:48.820 --> 00:12:51.740 right? That was the aspiration at the time. And 00:12:51.740 --> 00:12:54.320 you're now giving your, your daughters and grandchildren 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:56.480 and all the other members of the community and 00:12:56.480 --> 00:12:59.679 along with your, your council and community as 00:12:59.679 --> 00:13:02.360 a whole, this whole way of looking at the world 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:05.419 in front of them, which will allow them to stand 00:13:05.419 --> 00:13:07.879 on your shoulders and achieve even greater success. 00:13:08.360 --> 00:13:12.500 So that's, that's, you know. Great story to share. 00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:17.019 Thank you for sharing that with us. Chief Crystal, 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:19.200 wondering if you want to talk a little bit about 00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:22.700 the Haisla nation itself. You're on the west 00:13:22.700 --> 00:13:27.659 coast of British Columbia. And what can you tell 00:13:27.659 --> 00:13:32.200 our audience about your nation? Well, for one, 00:13:32.220 --> 00:13:34.779 our surrounding territory is absolutely beautiful. 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:39.120 It always has been. We're right at the head of 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:42.549 the Douglas Channel. Very fortunate in our geographical 00:13:42.549 --> 00:13:46.710 location, we have a port, deep sea port that 00:13:46.710 --> 00:13:48.990 doesn't freeze throughout the year. So in terms 00:13:48.990 --> 00:13:53.049 of economic opportunity, they're very fast in 00:13:53.049 --> 00:13:56.950 terms of that fact. But we've got about 2 ,000 00:13:56.950 --> 00:14:00.289 Haisla members that are currently on our band 00:14:00.289 --> 00:14:03.850 list. We've got about 1 ,000 of them that reside 00:14:03.850 --> 00:14:08.320 here locally on reserve. And then the rest reside 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:11.639 elsewhere in the province and the world. We're 00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:14.759 growing continuously through van transfers and 00:14:14.759 --> 00:14:21.039 through births. So we've grown about twice in 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:24.340 size since I've been in my elected position. 00:14:24.440 --> 00:14:28.779 So it is great to have and to see so many of 00:14:28.779 --> 00:14:34.600 our people wanting to come home. And the territory 00:14:34.600 --> 00:14:36.879 you've not signed, you're not a signatory to 00:14:36.879 --> 00:14:43.299 any treaties? No, no. Actually, within that process, 00:14:43.580 --> 00:14:47.179 we had been participating, going through treaty 00:14:47.179 --> 00:14:50.980 negotiations when I first came to work with our 00:14:50.980 --> 00:14:56.179 nation in 2005, 2006. However, with the blessing 00:14:56.179 --> 00:14:59.080 of our community, we actually stepped away from 00:14:59.080 --> 00:15:02.500 those negotiations because we had felt that. 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:07.919 we were able to achieve a lot of the self -determining 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:11.639 goals that we had. We were able to see that we 00:15:11.639 --> 00:15:14.379 were able to do that without participating within 00:15:14.379 --> 00:15:18.379 the treaty process. So we have been away from 00:15:18.379 --> 00:15:22.879 that table for nearly 10 years or so. Does that 00:15:22.879 --> 00:15:26.940 present any risks to partners? We'll be talking 00:15:26.940 --> 00:15:30.879 about Pembina later in the conversation. Does 00:15:30.879 --> 00:15:33.559 that cause them any concern that there's no treaty? 00:15:35.379 --> 00:15:39.580 You know, I wouldn't necessarily say it would 00:15:39.580 --> 00:15:44.419 cause any risk to Pemina. I think for the most 00:15:44.419 --> 00:15:47.659 part, when I take a look at and witness some 00:15:47.659 --> 00:15:50.240 of the work they have been doing, a large part 00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:52.159 of the work that they have been doing is with 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:56.120 treaty nations. However, in regards to working 00:15:56.120 --> 00:16:01.899 in B .C., we've been able to accomplish a large 00:16:01.899 --> 00:16:04.200 part of that self -determining outside of the 00:16:04.200 --> 00:16:08.340 treaty through making the decisions to do everything 00:16:08.340 --> 00:16:11.000 that gives us the ability to make the decisions 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:15.720 outside of treaty on our own already. And I think 00:16:15.720 --> 00:16:20.340 in terms of the importance and values that both 00:16:20.340 --> 00:16:24.679 the province and the feds are placing in UNDRIP 00:16:24.679 --> 00:16:29.899 and all of these you know, respecting Indigenous 00:16:29.899 --> 00:16:35.419 rights, I think alleviates a lot of that risk 00:16:35.419 --> 00:16:38.480 that would potentially be associated with a partnership 00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:43.259 with a community like mine. Excellent. Great 00:16:43.259 --> 00:16:47.419 to hear. And your nation has a history of industrial 00:16:47.419 --> 00:16:51.200 development in your territory. Do you want to 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:53.399 speak a little bit about, you've talked about 00:16:53.399 --> 00:16:57.840 the Alcan and now Rio Tinto. Aluminum smelter 00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:03.419 on your territory. LNG Canada, a shell -led consortium 00:17:03.419 --> 00:17:07.440 on your territory. Maybe you could say a little 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:11.940 bit about that history. So our community has 00:17:11.940 --> 00:17:15.400 experienced industrial development for the past 00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:20.619 70 years. Like I mentioned, our geographic location 00:17:20.619 --> 00:17:25.480 is one that definitely allows for many opportunities. 00:17:26.140 --> 00:17:30.380 to happen here. The aluminum smelter was built 00:17:30.380 --> 00:17:35.119 70 years ago and has successfully ran for the 00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:38.920 past 70 years in our territory through a modernization 00:17:38.920 --> 00:17:42.099 that happened with their technology in 2009. 00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:47.000 We also had, at the time, a pulp and paper mill 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:51.660 that was operational. Unfortunately, it closed 00:17:51.660 --> 00:17:57.859 down in 2000. I would say 2007 or 2008, it shut 00:17:57.859 --> 00:18:02.140 down. And then we had a methanol plant that was 00:18:02.140 --> 00:18:06.240 operating here as well. Now the difference between 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:11.559 those and today's opportunity is our nation did 00:18:11.559 --> 00:18:16.200 not have a part in participating in any of those 00:18:16.200 --> 00:18:21.180 industries when it came to having a say in how 00:18:21.180 --> 00:18:26.750 those... those were built and how they operated 00:18:26.750 --> 00:18:30.529 or a share in those opportunities, whether it 00:18:30.529 --> 00:18:34.890 was through contracts, through the construction 00:18:34.890 --> 00:18:38.269 or through operations and very limited opportunity 00:18:38.269 --> 00:18:43.430 when it came to employment for our members. So 00:18:43.430 --> 00:18:47.630 while our region had suffered economically in 00:18:47.630 --> 00:18:51.869 terms of those, the two operations shutting down. 00:18:52.750 --> 00:18:57.190 We didn't see much of an impact in terms of taking 00:18:57.190 --> 00:18:59.990 care of our own membership because there was 00:18:59.990 --> 00:19:02.410 just simply not enough employment opportunities 00:19:02.410 --> 00:19:07.029 within the mill or the methanol plant. So LNG 00:19:07.029 --> 00:19:10.009 is not something that is new to our territory 00:19:10.009 --> 00:19:13.750 as well. We own a parcel of land on the west 00:19:13.750 --> 00:19:16.730 side of the Douglas Channel called Bish Cove. 00:19:17.009 --> 00:19:21.190 And in the early 80s, our leadership at the time. 00:19:21.740 --> 00:19:24.420 saw an opportunity that it would be utilized 00:19:24.420 --> 00:19:27.900 for industrial development. And at the time, 00:19:27.900 --> 00:19:32.640 we had a import facility of LNG being proposed 00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:37.440 for that site, which unfortunately did not happen. 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:41.859 However, our people had zoned that parcel of 00:19:41.859 --> 00:19:46.200 land for industrial purposes. Later, it would 00:19:46.200 --> 00:19:49.890 become an expert facility. where many different 00:19:49.890 --> 00:19:53.569 companies had come in and proposed a facility 00:19:53.569 --> 00:19:58.190 for that site. At one time, within the last 10, 00:19:58.230 --> 00:20:02.630 15 years, we had about five LNG facilities being 00:20:02.630 --> 00:20:05.630 proposed for our territory, LNG Canada being 00:20:05.630 --> 00:20:08.930 one of them, and the Kitimat LNG facility, which 00:20:08.930 --> 00:20:13.529 was led by Chevron, being two of the more prominent, 00:20:13.569 --> 00:20:17.390 longer -standing proposals for our territory. 00:20:18.269 --> 00:20:21.349 And we were fortunate enough to be a large part 00:20:21.349 --> 00:20:26.470 of LMG Canada's, you know, how they were designing 00:20:26.470 --> 00:20:31.609 the facility when work would be done. We had 00:20:31.609 --> 00:20:35.150 a very large responsibility in participating 00:20:35.150 --> 00:20:39.250 within that project and having our say when it 00:20:39.250 --> 00:20:42.970 came to our cultural relevance in our territory. 00:20:44.920 --> 00:20:47.799 very active with LNG Canada and Coastal Gas Link 00:20:47.799 --> 00:20:51.660 and we're fortunate to see a positive FID in 00:20:51.660 --> 00:20:55.019 2018 and we're nearing the completion of the 00:20:55.019 --> 00:20:58.180 construction and hopefully within the next year 00:20:58.180 --> 00:21:02.700 or so we will see the first cargo leave our territory 00:21:02.700 --> 00:21:07.480 of LNG heading to Asia and to see the plant operating. 00:21:08.279 --> 00:21:11.160 Yeah, that's fantastic and there have been some 00:21:11.160 --> 00:21:19.740 big days. 2018, getting LNG Canada to their FID 00:21:19.740 --> 00:21:22.859 decision, positive decision. And then recently 00:21:22.859 --> 00:21:26.619 CEDAR, LNG and its positive decision. You've 00:21:26.619 --> 00:21:29.759 got a lot to celebrate. Curious about the LNG 00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:34.640 arrangement. You talked about how involved Heysel 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:38.000 Nation was. Was that through, that wasn't through 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:41.160 equity, was that through a contractual arrangement? 00:21:42.119 --> 00:21:46.980 That was through, so with LNG Canada, we have 00:21:46.980 --> 00:21:52.299 our impact benefit agreements with them. So in 00:21:52.299 --> 00:21:56.579 terms of that conversation, we didn't have, through 00:21:56.579 --> 00:22:00.059 that project, we do not have any equity through 00:22:00.059 --> 00:22:05.759 LNG Canada. However, we established very... important 00:22:05.759 --> 00:22:08.859 relationships at the beginning to have our opportunity 00:22:08.859 --> 00:22:14.240 to be active participants to that project. Maybe 00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:17.960 we could just spend some time talking about what 00:22:17.960 --> 00:22:21.420 it was like to be in the community. At the time, 00:22:21.420 --> 00:22:24.519 you had Alcan there, huge projects, some other 00:22:24.519 --> 00:22:27.900 huge investments. You mentioned when they shut 00:22:27.900 --> 00:22:31.539 down, it wasn't a big issue for the community 00:22:31.539 --> 00:22:34.289 because you hadn't benefited. from it. That's 00:22:34.289 --> 00:22:36.690 absolutely amazing. Could you talk a bit more 00:22:36.690 --> 00:22:40.549 about what that was like seeing these massive 00:22:40.549 --> 00:22:44.089 investments in their physical, right? You could 00:22:44.089 --> 00:22:46.049 see them on your territory and you hadn't benefited 00:22:46.049 --> 00:22:49.190 from that. What was kind of the view in the community? 00:22:49.289 --> 00:22:51.710 Because obviously that shaped how you approached 00:22:51.710 --> 00:22:57.769 the Cedar LNG investment. Yeah, so it was a Yurikan 00:22:57.769 --> 00:23:01.650 pulp and paper mill and methanol, they're Methanex 00:23:01.650 --> 00:23:06.450 plants that that shut down. And through the development 00:23:06.450 --> 00:23:08.769 of all the projects in our area, because we had 00:23:08.769 --> 00:23:11.589 no share and no say in terms of how they were 00:23:11.589 --> 00:23:14.450 developed and how they were built, ultimately 00:23:14.450 --> 00:23:17.869 not having a say in the impacts that they would 00:23:17.869 --> 00:23:21.589 have in our territory or without having any opportunity 00:23:21.589 --> 00:23:27.309 to assist with the mitigation of those impacts. 00:23:30.009 --> 00:23:34.789 With the operation of the industry, I remember 00:23:34.789 --> 00:23:37.329 growing up in our community and the hooligan, 00:23:37.470 --> 00:23:42.529 which is a huge staple of our cultural food here 00:23:42.529 --> 00:23:45.589 in our territory, it would run in the Kitimat 00:23:45.589 --> 00:23:50.019 River. They were abundant in many different areas, 00:23:50.259 --> 00:23:53.559 rivers here in our territory. And I remember 00:23:53.559 --> 00:23:56.259 growing up and listening to my grandparents talk 00:23:56.259 --> 00:23:58.619 about how we were losing them and never really 00:23:58.619 --> 00:24:02.440 understood why. I could just sense the urgency 00:24:02.440 --> 00:24:06.079 in my grandparents as they spoke about it and 00:24:06.079 --> 00:24:09.640 how they were able to taste and to smell effluent 00:24:09.640 --> 00:24:13.369 in the Ulican that they would catch. There were 00:24:13.369 --> 00:24:17.130 a tremendous amount of impacts in terms of the 00:24:17.130 --> 00:24:20.009 impact on our culture through those operations. 00:24:20.569 --> 00:24:24.490 And for the fact that, you know, we even up to 00:24:24.490 --> 00:24:28.309 where they were still operating, would hear about 00:24:28.309 --> 00:24:33.049 the limited opportunity and the lack of desire 00:24:33.049 --> 00:24:36.809 of any of those operations that would want to 00:24:36.809 --> 00:24:39.569 see any of our people become successful through 00:24:39.569 --> 00:24:44.400 employment in their operations. So when Methanex 00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:47.880 shut down, I believe we had maybe a handful, 00:24:47.960 --> 00:24:51.900 if not two or three members working within their 00:24:51.900 --> 00:24:57.400 facility. So when Methanex shut down, we had 00:24:57.400 --> 00:25:01.440 our departments actively looking for not only 00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:04.200 employment and how their skills would be able 00:25:04.200 --> 00:25:06.920 to be transferred to any other opportunity that 00:25:06.920 --> 00:25:09.720 we saw in our territory. But we were very fortunate 00:25:09.720 --> 00:25:13.750 to have a boat. 20 joint venture partners that 00:25:13.750 --> 00:25:16.170 would have operations that they would have projects 00:25:16.170 --> 00:25:21.009 in other parts of BC, if not Canada. So we quickly 00:25:21.009 --> 00:25:23.130 would have our staff either provide training 00:25:23.130 --> 00:25:26.170 opportunities to enhance their skill set, or 00:25:26.170 --> 00:25:27.970 they would be able to transfer their existing 00:25:27.970 --> 00:25:32.109 skills to our JVs. And the same occurred when 00:25:32.109 --> 00:25:34.730 when your can shut down, you know, I wasn't a 00:25:34.730 --> 00:25:37.490 part of our elected leadership at the time. However, 00:25:37.670 --> 00:25:40.750 I remember coming into this office and hearing 00:25:40.750 --> 00:25:46.329 that the urgency around the members that did 00:25:46.329 --> 00:25:48.809 have employment there about what their futures 00:25:48.809 --> 00:25:53.309 would look like. But again, very small, maybe 00:25:53.309 --> 00:25:57.130 a handful to 10 members that had employment there 00:25:57.130 --> 00:26:00.250 that essentially lost everything. They lost their 00:26:00.250 --> 00:26:03.829 retirement savings when ERCAN decided to shut 00:26:03.829 --> 00:26:08.059 down. But we quickly again. the nation came to 00:26:08.059 --> 00:26:13.579 work for those members to find opportunity. But 00:26:13.579 --> 00:26:18.259 I remember a few, I believe it was council members 00:26:18.259 --> 00:26:23.880 of the District of Kitimat asking us to save 00:26:23.880 --> 00:26:29.740 Iroquois. And at the time, we simply asked, why? 00:26:30.660 --> 00:26:34.430 Yes. We're able to meet our people's needs that 00:26:34.430 --> 00:26:38.190 are having issues with employment. And we went 00:26:38.190 --> 00:26:45.210 from there. And it did largely shape how we worked 00:26:45.210 --> 00:26:49.490 with industry. It shaped what we would never 00:26:49.490 --> 00:26:53.529 accept as a part of economic development in our 00:26:53.529 --> 00:26:56.410 territory and the impacts that it did have on 00:26:56.410 --> 00:27:01.980 our environment. We pushed for decisions. held 00:27:01.980 --> 00:27:06.240 companies responsible for for to be able to never 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:09.539 see what happened with your canon with methanix 00:27:09.539 --> 00:27:13.500 in our territory again wow thank you very much 00:27:13.500 --> 00:27:15.480 uh chief crystal we're going to have you back 00:27:15.480 --> 00:27:20.039 for a second podcast to go into cedar lng which 00:27:20.039 --> 00:27:23.859 is the world's first indigenous majority owned 00:27:24.560 --> 00:27:27.700 And I think it's one of Canada's largest Indigenous 00:27:27.700 --> 00:27:29.819 -led infrastructure projects and certainly one 00:27:29.819 --> 00:27:32.119 of the biggest infrastructure projects in the 00:27:32.119 --> 00:27:37.559 country. So we'll continue with that on our next 00:27:37.559 --> 00:27:41.180 podcast. Thank you very much. Rob, would you 00:27:41.180 --> 00:27:44.539 like to wrap up the podcast? Well, I just want 00:27:44.539 --> 00:27:46.839 to thank Chief Crystal once again for her time 00:27:46.839 --> 00:27:51.599 this morning. Really interesting, personal and 00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:55.750 community. history and background that helped 00:27:55.750 --> 00:27:59.049 set the scene for the discussion about Cedar 00:27:59.049 --> 00:28:03.309 LNG. So thank you again for joining us. Thank 00:28:03.309 --> 00:28:05.789 you for having me. Thank you.