This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy.Indigenous communities should have the right to set up their own utility companies without provincial interference, the B.C. Utilities Commission has concluded.
“It’s the first practical application, otherwise it’s just been promises,” said Judith Sayers, president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council. Ms. Sayers has spearheaded clean energy projects since 2001. The challenge followed a failed bid by the Beecher Bay First Nation on Vancouver Island to set up its only utility company that would provide ocean thermal energy, gas propane and electricity to a large new housing and commercial development being built on reserve lands. The BCUC rejected that request in 2016.
The BCUC process should serve as a model as the provincial government begins the long procedure of working out how to implement UNDRIP, she added. In its draft report, the BCUC acknowledged that the current system has led to injustices for Indigenous communities, and has created barriers to development of their own resources.
GlobeBC Why not
GlobeBC Better late then never and I would personally fight for compensation from every industry,business and government 😊