Calgary, Alberta, Sept. 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A Canadian Indigenous chief is lending his voice to a Manhattan billboard marketing campaign this month, hoping it should deliver international understanding that the nation’s vitality trade is taking part in an vital function in bettering the usual of dwelling of many First Nations People in Canada.
“Partnerships with Canada’s energy sector offer an incredible opportunity to pull our next generation out of poverty,” stated Dale Swampy, president of the National Coalition of Chiefs. “These partnerships advance the path of Reconciliation.”
Swampy, whose group represents about 80 First Nations communities throughout Canada, hopes his message throughout New York’s Climate Week – one of the most important environment-focused occasions on the planet – helps shine a lightweight on the robust relationship many Indigenous communities have with Canada’s oil and gasoline and cleantech industries and the function financial and environmental partnerships have within the pursuit of Reconciliation.
“It’s important people also understand that the oil and gas industry is taking its commitment to tackle climate change seriously and that the inherent relationship our people have with the environment is helping projects to be developed more responsibly,” stated Swampy.
Canada ranks primary among the many world’s prime oil reserve holders in all three areas of ESG – environmental safety, social progress and governance – in accordance to worldwide third-party assessments – and oil and gasoline employs extra Indigenous individuals than every other trade within the nation.
In reality, total Indigenous illustration within the oil and gasoline sector was greater than 6% in 2019, in accordance to Statistics Canada. For comparability, Indigenous peoples make up about 3.3% of Canada’s complete workforce.
More and extra First Nations communities and companies are coming into into fairness partnerships and mutual profit agreements on main pipeline and vitality infrastructure initiatives. And Canada’s oil sands producers have spent $15 billion with Indigenous companies since 2012, reaching a report $2.4 billion in 2019, in accordance to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
“Yet unfortunately there are some coordinated groups who are preying on the desperation of some of our people to turn world opinion against Canada’s oil and gas industry,” stated Swampy, a member of the Samson Cree Nation.
As a end result, Indigenous communities misplaced out as governments have up to now bowed to extremist strain and denied initiatives such because the Keystone XL and Northern Gateway pipelines, which might have introduced a whole lot of tens of millions of {dollars} of financial progress to communities, he stated.
The $65,000 marketing campaign, sponsored by the Canadian Energy Centre (CEC), options Swampy and the straightforward message “Indigenous partnerships with oil and gas advance the path of Reconciliation.”
It will run Sept. 20 to 25 on three giant out of doors digital billboards in excessive site visitors New York areas at Times Center, focusing on Climate Week audio system, delegates and media.
CEC President and CEO Tom Olsen stated Swampy has been an integral voice for Canadian First Nations involvement in helpful fairness partnerships.
“Dale has been a courageous voice for many years now on the important role First Nations leaders, businesses, and monitors can play in supporting stronger and more sustainable projects,” stated Olsen.
“It’s time the world gained that understanding too.”
Quick details:
- The oil and gasoline and mining sectors symbolize eight of the highest 10 highest-paying occupations for Indigenous peoples for Canada, in accordance to a report by the Macdonald Laurier Institute.
- Indigenous ladies earned three to 4 occasions extra in wages from occupations in oil and gasoline than from median wages throughout all industries, in accordance to the identical report. In reality, oil and gasoline associated occupations symbolize the highest six highest paying occupations for Indigenous ladies in Canada, with pipeline transportation the best.
- The Trans Mountain Expansion Project from Alberta to the British Columbia coast has signed mutual profit agreements with 69 First Nations valued at over $600 million.
- The venture has spent greater than $3.2 billion with Indigenous-owned companies ($1.3 billion in 2021 alone) and employed greater than 2,100 Indigenous staff.
- Indigenous teams are searching for an possession stake in Trans Mountain when the enlargement is accomplished.
- Also in B.C., all 20 elected First Nations alongside the Coastal GasLink pipeline have signed venture agreements. And 16 BC indigenous communities signed an historic settlement to turn into fairness homeowners within the Coastal GasLink pipeline, as soon as it’s up and working
- Together the LNG Canada venture and Coastal GasLink have spent greater than $5.1 billion with Indigenous and native companies.
- The Haisla Nation on B.C.’s north coast is roughly 50 per cent proprietor of Cedar LNG, a proposed $2.4-billion floating export terminal that if constructed would be the largest First Nations-owned infrastructure venture in Canada.
- Ksi Lisims LNG is a $10-billion proposed new Canadian pure gasoline export venture close to the Alaska border on the B.C. north coast owned collectively by the Nisga’a Nation, Rockies LNG and Western LNG.
- The B.C.-based First Nations Major Projects Coalition and Miawpukek First Nation on Canada’s East Coast are working collectively on the first-ever Indigenous fairness participation in an Atlantic offshore venture, referred to as LNG Newfoundland and Labrador
- Canada receives primary rankings in all three areas of environmental safety, social progress and governance among the many world’s prime oil reserve holders – in accordance to assessments of respected third-party efficiency indexes together with the Yale Environmental Performance Index, Social Progress Imperative Index, and World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators.
More examples of fairness partnerships with First Nations communities may be discovered on the marketing campaign web site at responsiblecanadianenergy.com
- NYC billboard 1
- NYC billboard 2
