First Nation in western B.C. making strides toward energy sovereignty

Six years after a devastating diesel spill underscored its dependency on fossil fuels, the Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk) Nation in western B.C. says it is moving towards energy sovereignty and decarbonization, introducing everything from heat pumps, solar panels and solar composting to its community.

On Oct. 13, 2016, the Kirby Corporation's Nathan E. Stewart spilled an estimated 110,000 litres of diesel and another 2,000 litres of lubricants after it ran aground in the Seaforth Channel near Bella Bella, B.C., the largest community in the Heiltsuk Nation.

The nation went on to sue the multibillion-dollar corporation in 2018, but says federal and provincial assistance have been hard to come by in the years since the spill devastated clam beds in the nation's traditional territory.

Q̓án̓ístisḷa (Michael Vegh), the energy implementation advisor for the Heiltsuk climate action team, says that was some of the motivation behind the nation's subsequent clean energy projects.

"I think [the spill] brought into the community consciousness just how real the risk is when we are shipping in oil and diesel to heat our community," he told CBC News.

"Today that's simply not a risk that we have to take anymore and we can find alternatives to doing so … we're not just stuck in our trauma from that event anymore. We're taking action."

The story of the Heiltsuk Nation, located relatively far from urban centres and therefore having to rely on imported energy, is not uncommon across Canada.

Vegh says one of the major priorities in the nation's climate strategy was to address home heating, which constituted 60 per cent of the community's greenhouse gas emissions, primarily due to heating diesel.

Now, around 75 per cent of Bella Bella's homes have energy-efficient electric heat pumps installed — with Vegh estimating that the average household is saving $1,500 in heating costs and producing five fewer tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

"At a very household level, the heat pumps are creating a better source of heating in homes and creating a greater air quality which reduces respiratory issues," he said. "It's making having a home in the community that [much] more affordable.

"Our climate action goals … ensure that all the means of energy and transportation and resources in our community are sustainable and not going to cause harm to our way of life."

Q̓átuw̓as (Gahtuwos) Brown, communications manager for the Heiltsuk climate action group, said the community's electricity largely comes from a B.C. Hydro electric plant operated by private company Boralex.

She said the nation was in talks to buy the hydroelectric plant outright, as a part of solidifying Heiltsuk's energy sovereignty.

"They're trying to sell it to us for over $12 million," she said. "It shows the financial inequalities that still exist between settler society and Indigenous societies, and also the value systems."