Abstract
<p><em>Ontario’s 2017 Long-Term Energy Plan has identified the </em><em>Wataynikaneyap Power transmission line </em><em>as a priority project.</em><em> </em><em>The line will connect seventeen remote, off-grid, diesel-dependent First Nation</em><em> </em><em>communitiesin </em><em>northwestern Ontario, Canada to the provincial grid</em><em>. The province’s </em><em>current energy mandates and policies commit program dollars to build the human capacities o</em><em>f the seventeen</em><em> </em><em>Wataynikaneyap Power communities </em><em>through the </em><em>Remote Electrification Readiness Program (RERP)</em><em>. This effort is part of growing interests, changing perspectives, and focus in the continuum of provincial strategies to encourage First Nations to meet their emerging energy transitional needs and to partake in the energy sector.</em></p><p><em>Capacity-building challenges are unique in</em><em> </em><em>the</em><em> </em><em>Wataynikaneyap Power communities because</em><em> </em><em>they experience higher levels of poverty and</em><em> </em><em>socio</em><em> </em><em>economic inequities, are subjected to antiquated and unjust institutional structures, are following a legal and self-governance status, and are maintaining distinct cultures and ways of life.</em></p><p><em>Capacity building as a concept is wide-ranging</em><em> </em><em>and offers</em><em> </em><em>a multitude of expressions</em><em> </em><em>and interpretations. For </em><em>the </em><em>Wataynikaneyap Power communities</em><em>, capacity building</em><em> has offered the opportunity</em><em> </em><em>to exert their inherent rights and to increase their participation in local and regional energy planning and development.</em></p><em>This community-based research is derived from grassroots ethnographic community observation. Through a case study of one of the Wataynikaneyap Power communities, Poplar Hill First Nation, the paper will: a) elucidate a working example of an Indigenous capacity-building process through the RERP; b) demonstrate that capacity development is a key building block for self-determination and to achieve energy sovereignty; and c) illustrate the broader scope of learnings and pathways to effective capacity building for Indigenous communities that will drive energy development initiatives and actions in Canada’s expansive energy sector.</em>
Highlights
Poplar Hill First Nation in northwestern Ontario, Canada is one among the 25 remote First Nation communities that currently generate some or all of their electricity from diesel (AANDC & NRCan, 2011)
The Wataynikaneyap Power Transmission line, a First Nation-owned and led company has been chosen by the province to construct and operate the new transmission line and connect seventeen remote First Nation communities in northwestern Ontario to the provincial grid
Presently inadequate to non-existent, was soon recognized as one of the urgent concerns. It is pertinent for all groups—academicians, policy-makers, investors, project proponents and other interested stakeholders involved—to have a collective understanding and clarity about what capacity building means in the context of Indigenous populations and their interactions and partnerships
Summary
Poplar Hill First Nation in northwestern Ontario, Canada is one among the 25 remote First Nation communities that currently generate some or all of their electricity from diesel (AANDC & NRCan, 2011). The paper concludes by summarizing the broader scope of learnings and pathways to effective capacity building for remote Indigenous communities in driving initiatives and actions for local energy development and services and in the far-reaching landscape of the energy sector.
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