An indigenous-led report released by the University of British Columbia recommends changes in wildfire management and post-fire recovery in British Columbia, including engagement with affected indigenous communities earlier in the process.
The report was released on Monday, Dec. 6, some four years in the wake of the Elephant Hill megafire that burned over 469,500 acres and destroyed over 100 homes in the southcentral Interior region of B.C.
CBC News reported in May 2020 that the fire was most likely sparked by an individual who had been smoking but that there was insufficient evidence to file charges. The B.C. Wildfire Service said in a May 17, 2020, statement that the fire was ignited by discarded “smoking materials” such as cigarettes, matches or marijuana on July 6, 2017, near Ashcroft, B.C.
The UBC report was compiled by doctoral student Sarah Dickson-Hoyle, who worked closely with the Secwepemcul’ecw Restoration and Stewardship Society founded by eight Secwepemc First Nation communities impacted by the wildfire who are working on restoration of lands throughout their territories. Dickson-Hoyle said there was widespread frustration among these communities that Secwepemc knowledge of fire and their territories was largely ignored, hindering effective wildfire response.
Angie Kane, chief executive officer of the society, said that Secwepemc communities manage, protect and revitalize their lands through unity and Secwepemc values and law.
“Take care of the land, the land takes care of us,” she said. “It is our cultural responsibility to ensure we leave a legacy of regenerated lands, enriched and thriving forests and biodiversity, healthy and abundant wildlife, clean air and water for future generations.”
The report attributes successful recovery efforts to a new collaboration between the Secwepemc communities and the provincial government through a Joint Leadership Council, which allows the Secwepemc communities to play a central role from reforestation to post-fire archaeology.
Still the report was critical of the lack of investment in long-term capacity building and limited strategic or landscape-level planning, due to conflicting perspectives between these First Nations communities and the government regarding the scope of wildfire recovery activities.
The report included a number of recommendations for improving wildfire management and recovery practices, including long-term funding and capacity building for indigenous emergency management offices and strengthening the role of indigenous wildfire liaisons. Establishment of a provincial framework for land-based wildfire recovery and support for indigenous communities in jointly implementing landscape-level wildfire recovery plans were also recommended.
Dickson-Hoyle prepared the report with Char John, SRSS’s natural resource community coordinator, with supervision from UBC forestry professors Lori Daniels and Shannon Hagerman.
Open Letter re: the Site C Project (20 September 2020)
Download our Open Letter, here.
Previous Research on the Site C Project
In 2016, a team of researchers led by Dr. Karen Bakker began producing a series of reports on the Site C Project. These reports assessed First Nations issues; environmental impacts; regulatory process; greenhouse gas emissions; economics; and employment.
Site C: Summary of Key Research Results (23 November 2017)
New UBC-led report finds alternatives to Site C creates significantly more jobs, produce electricity at a lower cost with lower risks, have a significantly lower environmental impact, and produce less greenhouse gas emissions.
New Research Report: Comparative Assessment of Site C Employment (17 November 2017)
A new UBC report compares employment numbers from Site C versus the alternatives, and concludes: stopping Site C will create a larger number of sustainable jobs in the province, including in the Peace Region.
UBC’s Program on Water Governance has conducted a detailed comparison of employment generated by Site C versus the alternative portfolios put forward by BC Hydro and the BCUC.
- Our analysis indicates that terminating Site C and pursuing the alternatives results in modest job losses in the short term, and substantial job gains in the medium and long-term.
- These jobs are generated by remediation, conservation, and alternative energy projects.
- Terminating Site C and pursuing any alternative portfolio creates a higher number of sustainable jobs in the province, including in the Peace Region.
- Site C provides the least jobs per dollar spent.
2016 Research Reports
Report #1- First Nations and Site C (May 2016)
Report #2 – Site C Environmental Effects (May 2016)
Report #3 – Regulatory Process (May 2016)
Report #4 – Site C – Comparative GHG analysis (July 2016)
2017 Research Reports
Report #5 – Site C – Economics (April 2017)
Report #5 – Site C – Economics Report – Errata (April 2017)
Policy Options – overview article (April 2017)
British Columbia Utilities Commission Reports
Our team has made six technical submissions made to the British Columbia Utilities Commission, which can been viewed on their website or below.
F106-1 Program on Water Governance, UBC, Reassessing the Need for Site C & Comparative Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions of the Site C versus Alternatives (2 reports in here) (August 27 2017)
F106-2 Program on Water Governance, UBC, Submission to the BC Utilities Commission (August 30 2017)
F106-5 Program on Water Governance, UBC, An Updated Portfolio Present Value Cost Analysis (October 11 2017)
F106-6 Program on Water Governance, UBC, Policy issues of relevance to the BCUC Inquiry Respecting Site C (October 16 2017)
F106-7 Program on Water Governance, UBC, Comments on BC Hydro’s Appendix M (October 16 2017)
F106-10 Program on Water Governance, UBC, Submission #6 — Comments on the Commission’s Draft Alternative Portfolio – Hendriks (October 19 2017)
F106-10-1 Program on Water Governance, UBC, Submission #6 – Comments on the Commission’s Draft Alternative Portfolio Spreadsheet Analysis – Hendriks (October 19 2017)
F106-11 Program on Water Governance, UBC, Submission #6 — Alternative Portfolios with regard to the Site C Project – Raphals (October 19 2017)
F106-11-1 Program on Water Governance, UBC, Submission #6 — Alternative Portfolios with regard to the Site C Project Spreadsheet Analysis – Raphals (October 19 2017)
