BCTC is committed to creating opportunities across the province for Aboriginal people and communities through its Aboriginal Business Development Program. Our goals are for individuals to build career skills and for companies to grow with us as long-term, valued suppliers.
The value of services BCTC buys from Aboriginal suppliers increased fifteen-fold in the first two years of the Aboriginal Business Development Program. Here are a few recent success stories.
A Positive Partnership with In-SHUCK-ch Nation
In December 2007, BCTC awarded In-SHUCK-ch Development Corporation (IDC) a three-year contract to provide vegetation management for an area that runs through In-SHUCK-ch communities' reserve lands and traditional territory near Pemberton, BC. This contract is the result of a successful partnership between BCTC, a local forestry company and the First Nations government.
In-SHUCK-ch is composed of 850 people from three First Nations communities - Douglas (Xa'xtsa), Samahquam and Skatin. Their territory is located within the lower Lillooet River Valley in southwestern BC near Pemberton and Mt. Currie in the north, and Harrison Hot Springs and Agassiz to the south.
Since BCTC transmission lines pass through In-SHUCK-ch land, this provided an opportunity to get First Nations forestry workers involved in vegetation management in the area. Supported by BCTC, Timberline Natural Resource Group provided training to four In-SHUCK-ch forest workers to further develop their skills in vegetation management. Delivered locally, the training used In-SHUCK-ch resources and services where possible. All training took place within In-SHUCK-ch territory, using local suppliers to provide resources such as facility rental and catering. Although the four workers had forestry experience, the training by Timberline ensured members had a common foundation of skills in areas such as fire suppression, saws and thinning, pesticide application and First Aid.
Upon completion of the two-week training program, BCTC awarded the contract to IDC, and the First Nations crew began work near the end of 2007. Their job involves clearing vegetation around transmission lines, which can involve chainsaw work, moving debris or marking the right-of-way. Their work ensures that electricity is transmitted uninterrupted while also making rights-of-way and roads safer.
The four members of the crew are Malcolm Smith, who is a Council member, Mathias Smith, John Sam and Kevin Williams. They all live in Baptiste Smith, one of the Samahquam villages and value the opportunity to work locally rather than moving away from family and friends. In addition to increasing employment in the community, this partnership is building capacity so that IDC will be in a position to bid on future BCTC and other resource management contracts.
View a PDF version of this success story (PDF, 280KB).
Building Connections with the Tsawwassen First Nation
BCTC is working in partnership with the Tsawwassen First Nation to enhance the marine environment in the Roberts Bank area. In addition to rejuvenating the waters, this project is generating employment for Aboriginal peoples and creating important relationships.
In 2007, BCTC awarded a contract with the Tsawwassen First Nation for habitat renewal work to compensate for disruption to the marine environment caused by the Vancouver Island Transmission Reinforcement project. BCTC agreed to fund enhancement projects in the Roberts Bank area adjacent to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal causeway and at Whaler Bay on Galiano Island.
The work next to the ferry causeway features the largest transplant of 
subtidal eelgrass ever in BC. The first step involved civil works - building a seabed bottom with sand and creating a berm to hold the sand in place. The next step involves harvesting eelgrass in nearby waters and transplanting it in the new sandy area.
The Tsawwassen First Nation is working on the project with Nova Pacific Environmental Ltd., a local company with extensive experience in similar projects. Nova Pacific has a crew of about 21 people working on the project, including nine members of the Tsawwassen First Nation in full-time and part-time jobs.
Transplanting eelgrass is a painstaking process. Divers harvest the individual shoots, which are transported to a barge that is anchored about 350 metres from the ferry causeway. On the barge, members of the team attach a small weight to each individual piece of eelgrass. The weighted shoots are then returned to the divers, who place them on the seabed in clumps of nine shoots.
The project will transplant a total of 189,000 shoots of eelgrass, creating an extremely valuable marine habitat. As they were working, the divers could already see crabs, fish and other sea life returning to the area.
This project is positive both in terms of revitalizing the marine habitat and building capacity among members of the Tsawwassen First Nation, according to Terry Baird, Manager of Business and Economic Development.
"There's been a great response to the employment opportunities generated by this project - the participation level has been fantastic," he explains. "We like to work in a marine environment, and people are learning skills that hopefully can be used in more projects like this. We feel like we're on the forefront of a new industry in the area of enhancement and mitigation."
The enhancement project also involves clearing debris and planting eelgrass in Whaler Bay on Galiano Island. The entire enhancement project is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2008. The relationships will extend beyond then. The Tsawwassen First Naton has registered with the BCTC Aboriginal Business Directory, and Terry Baird is positive about the prospects for similar contracts in the future: "We think this is the beginning of a very good partnership."
View a PDF version of this success story (PDF, 71KB).
Khowutzun clears the way
A First Nations forestry company, Khowutzun Forest Services (KFS), helped prepare rights-of-way for the Vancouver Island Transmission Reinforcement (VITR) project. In addition to building capacity among its members, KFS has formed valuable partnerships that position it for further success.
To ensure BC’s growing electricity needs are met with a reliable source of power, BCTC is undertaking the VITR Project. It involves upgrading overhead transmission lines and an existing submarine cable circuit connecting southern Vancouver Island to the Lower Mainland.
KFS is owned and operated by the Cowichan Tribes of BC, an amalgamation of several small bands in the Cowichan Valley. Together, they form the largest First Nations band in BC with a population of 3,800 people. The traditional ancestral Cowichan territory is in and around the city of Duncan, one of the areas where the VITR Project is constructing overhead transmission lines.
In 2007, BCTC awarded a contract to KFS for right-of-way preparation on Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands. As part of the contract, BCTC provided partial funding for training of 10 KFS crew members in chainsaw safety and maintenance, power system safety protection (PSSP) and environmental protection. The KFS crew began work in February 2007. This involved clearing vegetation from the rights-of-way and preparing access roads. The work began on Vancouver Island, followed by Salt Spring Island, Galiano Island and Parker Island.
KFS formed a partnership with Gregson Holdings for road building work. They also worked closely with Allteck Line Contractors, the company contracted by BCTC to construct the overhead lines.
“Working on VITR was a huge learning experience because we had the opportunity to work with the general contractor on all aspects of a major project,” explains Cedar Elliott, Assistant Manager, Forestry with KFS. “The biggest benefit was the training and employment aspect; 12 Cowichan tribe members gained experience and skills by working on this project.”
KFS completed the right-of-way preparation work in October 2007. The experience has enabled them to bid on other large projects in partnership with Allteck Line Contractors and Gregson Holdings. “The VITR project experience helped us create relationships thatwill help us build our business,” Cedar Elliott says. “We’ve developed excellent relationships with BCTC and our partners on the VITR work. And we see opportunities to partner with other First Nations groups to help them build capacity so they can perform similar work.”
View a PDF version of this success story (PDF, 330KB).