Evidence of meeting #126 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was infrastructure.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Professor, Supply Chain Management, Universitiy of Manitoba, As an Individual
—it's that we can lower the costs and makes things better.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal MaryAnn Mihychuk
Okay.
Now, for our other presenters, as you know, we're not going to have an opportunity to ask you questions, but we do want to hear from you.
From the Det'on Cho Corporation, we have Paul and Paul. Please go ahead, whether you're splitting the talk or.... One of you can go ahead. We're all ears.
Paul Gruner President and Chief Executive Officer, Det'on Cho Corporation
Good afternoon, Madam Chair. We'll make it quick. I know we're under time constraints. We'll be talking about the corporation and about some of the needs for infrastructure as they relate to NWT and the north. At the end, we'll have some quick recommendations.
I'll turn it over to Paul to give a brief overview of the history of Det'on Cho and Yellowknives Dene first nation, our shareholder. Then we'll say a little bit about the infrastructure piece.
Paul Betsina Business Development Manager, Det'on Cho Corporation
Good afternoon. Bonjour, Madam Chair. My name is Paul Betsina. I'm with the Yellowknives Dene first nation.
To give you a brief history on Det'on Cho Corporation, we are the economic arm of the Yellowknives Dene first nation. Currently, we are into our 30th year of business here in the north. That all started with a $15,000 grant, which was envisioned by our elders to move our first nation into business. Since then, we've grown and we have certainly had our ups and downs as a corporation, but we are still here and still willing to do business. We want to be the aboriginal partner of choice for the north, in the future and beyond, to expand within Canada.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Det'on Cho Corporation
If you look at where Det'on Cho is today, we range in revenue from $50 million to $100 million a year. We're pegged very closely to the diamond mine sector that operates here in NWT. By value, Canada is the third-largest producer of diamonds in the world because of those diamond mines. We employ about 700 people locally between our partnership joint ventures and employ about 200 members directly from Yellowknives Dene first nation. We're a major employer, both for our community and for the territory at large.
When we look at recommended infrastructure, we're going to have Paul talk very briefly at the community level, and then I'll talk a little bit more at the territory level about supporting the resource side.
Business Development Manager, Det'on Cho Corporation
I'll speak very quickly about housing at our community level, which is very important for our people here in NWT.
We really don't want to be moved around too much anymore, as we have been in the past. We love our territory. We love where we are. Having suitable and sustainable housing that goes into the long-term future is very important to us as Dene people. That's what we would like to see happening with our housing.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Det'on Cho Corporation
On a larger-scale infrastructure side, the last speaker referenced current ice roads and bridges to feed those three diamond mines that we have. Those are based on a winter road that has been in place. It's a pretty impressive feat that goes on every year to move in all the products over a six- to eight-week period to supply and resupply those three mines. That is increasingly at risk as it relates to the climate change we're experiencing.
When you look at some of that key infrastructure, for us to maintain some of that socio-economic status, we need to look at things like the Mackenzie Valley and the Slave geological corridor, which is proposed to extend beyond into Nunavut, with port access, as well as some of the key infrastructure requirements around energy.
One of the major constraints that we experience here in NWT and across the three territories is that there is a very, very high cost of power generation. We're capped in terms of the hydroelectric output that we produce, and there is an increasing cost as it relates to diesel cogeneration. We have to look at opportunities so that we can drive in a cheaper electrical supply.
From an economic standpoint, if we don't have some of that key infrastructure.... We have some significant downward pressure as it relates to NWT in particular. You probably saw the Conference Board of Canada report that came out about six months ago. My understanding is that a revised one is coming out today or tomorrow. We haven't had a chance to look at that. Every indication is that we have some very weak economic prospects as it relates to the territory here.
Look at those three diamond mines. They contribute about $1.2 billion to the territorial economy here. If we're not able to sustain those mines and to produce other revenue-generating opportunities as they relate to the resource sector, there is a significant threat to the economic prosperity that not only the Yellowknives Dene First Nation and our corporation experience, because we're only one of many that positively contribute to that sector.
Along with that would come some pretty negative things, such as population decline, obviously a loss of meaningful job opportunities and a loss of the ability to provide social programming across the territory.
Paul and I were talking earlier about programming and the next steps in what we would require. We really need to have a joint effort as it relates to the federal government, the territorial government, and the impact on indigenous groups in the territory. When you look at a billion-dollar project—the Slave geological one, let's say, or hydro upgrades—in southern jurisdictions that may not be an overly large project. In a jurisdiction like NWT, Yukon or Nunavut, these are megaprojects.
We have constraints as they relate to the territorial government. The GNWT in particular is bumping up against their debt cap. Also, from an indigenous standpoint, our ability to contribute meaningfully from a capital standpoint is going to have its constraints
At a very high level for a recommendation, we're saying that the federal government needs to look at these resource projects with that risk capital and at investing for future opportunities to continue development, whether it be the resource project, Arctic sovereignty or the ability to reach some of these northern remote communities. It's very difficult for us to develop a business case that's going to support that.
The other side of it is to look at how we engage with the indigenous communities so that they can have a meaningful contribution. I think there are opportunities when we're contributing federal dollars into resource projects. Do we have the ability to convert more of that into equity positions so that the first nation has the ability to then leverage and work with third party financiers?
Is there anything you want to add to that, Paul?
Business Development Manager, Det'on Cho Corporation
Yes. Our recommended next steps for us would include the need to have a joint venture between the federal government, the GNWT and indigenous communities; the need for significant support from the federal government, as there is limited access to capital for the GNWT and indigenous groups; the need to work with indigenous groups to assist with active participation within infrastructure projects; and the need to finalize our land claims, in particular with our Akaitcho and Dehcho regions, as well as—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal MaryAnn Mihychuk
Please submit your brief to us. We will include it in our report and use it for information for the report we're going to produce.
Liberal