BCBusiness

Thanks to TC Transcontinental Printing's unique multiplatform approach, we're able to continually create multiple touch points with the business community. We connect the print and digital worlds by streamlining the integration of innovative print solutions with advanced multiplatform services for maximum results. TC Transcontinental Printing is proud to be a partner of BCBusiness. Successfully connecting business leaders BCBUSINESS.CA JULY/AUGUST 2017 BCBUSINESS 59 Morgan Canada announced an MBA with Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc (formerly the Kamloops Indian Band), one of the larg- est Secwépemc communities, whose reserve lands lie in the path of the pipe- line route. Chief Fred Seymour, who sup- ports the project, con‚rms that the band has received $3 million that is "sitting in a trust…earmarked for diˆerent areas." Tk'emlúps negotiated the agreement for about six years, Seymour says. But unlike the Peters Band, it didn't hold a community vote. "Probably about 100," Seymour replies when asked how many of his band's 1,300 members he con- sulted before signing the agreement. He doesn't see that as a problem. Seymour says Tk'emlúps consists of 13 family groups; in his opinion, those 100 people accurately represent the views of the broader community. " "You can't keep them all happy," Seymour says of band members unsatis- ‚ed with the agreement. "As long as you keep 95 per cent of your membership happy, it's going to create employment." Seymour won't specify how much local work he expects the project to generate, but he says that at least 25 per cent of the construction jobs on one segment of the pipeline will go to Tk'emlúps members. "But Archie reckons there's a chance the courts could overturn the MBAs in Secwépemc because of poor process. "I'm not sure what [the Tk'emlúps] approval process was," he says. "But having been a consultant doing com- munity facilitation, I know that a lot of community members, even living on reserve, feel like they're not consulted adequately." " Such con›ict in First Nations com- munities isn't unique to negotiations involving Kinder Morgan Canada. Last summer, two hereditary chiefs on Haida Gwaii had their titles stripped at a historic potlatch ceremony for secretly supporting Enbridge's failed Northern Gateway Pipeline proposal. Discourse Media examined a letter signed by the chiefs addressed to the NEB in support of the project. Another document called a "Term Sheet" showed that the chiefs were oˆered $90,000 for "cultural activ- ities," but it was never proven that they accepted those funds. "This past October, con‚dential draft documents were leaked onto social media, sparking anger in the Gitxsan Nation of northwestern B.C. One signed document titled "Trustee Resolution of the Amdimxxw Trust" showed that a group of Gitxsan hereditary chiefs accepted about $6 million in public funds from the B.C. government in exchange for the Gitxsan Nation's sup- port for TransCanada Corp.'s proposed Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line. Some Gitxsan members are now seeking to stop that project in court by claiming they weren't consulted. " W LACK OF CONSULTATION LEADS TO LAWSUITS The governance dispute shaking the Peters First Nation has triggered a law- suit that could threaten the deal between the band and Kinder Morgan. "According to documents ‚led in B.C. Supreme Court last December by Andrew Genaille and his sister, Lisa Genaille, the Peters Band Council signed a letter of understanding with Kinder Morgan Can- ada in July 2014. This meant the company provided funds for the council to pay for consultants, legal fees, environmental studies and negotiation meetings. "Genaille accuses the council of pay- "Probably about 100," Tk'emlúps Chief Fred Seymour replies when asked how many of his band's 1,300 members he consulted before signing the agreement with Kinder Morgan. He doesn't see that as a problem. Seymour says Tk'emlúps consists of 13 family groups; in his opinion, those 100 people accu- rately represent the views of the broader community

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