letter to chief sophie pierre ktunaxa first nation

7/30/2019 Letter to Chief Sophie Pierre Ktunaxa First Nation

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pheidias project management corporationsuite 1660 1188 west georgia street, vancouver, british columbia v6e 4a2 canada t: 604-662-8833 f: 604-662-7958

[email protected]

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January 17, 2003

Chief Sophie PierreKtunaxa Kinbasket Tribal Council, Administrator

Ktunaxa Kinbasket Tribal Council

7468 Mission Road

Cranbrook, BC V1C 7E5

Re: Meeting with the Tribal Council

Dear Chief Sophie Pierre:

In preparation for the meeting scheduled for Thursday, January 23, 2002 at 2:00pm at the Delta Hotel atSt. Eugene, I am attaching a discussion paper that I hope to review with the Tribal Council and in the

future, after our meeting explaining the project as it is being finalized with the Environmental Assessment

Office.

With kind regards,

Pheidias Project Management Corporation

Per: Oberto Oberti, MAIBC

President

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Attach.

cc: Mr. Thomas Munson

KKTC Treaty Lands Coordinator

Mr. Troy Hunter

KKTC Community Organizer

Mr. Dave Bjarnason

International Union of Operating Engineers


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A DISCUSSION PAPER LEADING TO A PROPOSAL FOR THE FIRST

NATIONS REGARDING THE JUMBO GLACIER RESORT PROJECT

1. The North American tourism perspective:

North America is a huge continent comprising a population of more than 350 million people.

Holidays in the past consisted to a great extent of trips by car to visit other parts of the continent

or going to remote overseas locations. Florida, Arizona, southern California and Hawaii were in

part the exception, becoming destinations for winter holidays. Colorado and a few other locationsbecame destinations for skiing winter holidays. Summer holidays remained to a great extent

motorcar explorations over the continent.

This is in contrast with the European experience, a continent of over 350 million people, where

since the mid 1800s the habit developed of taking holidays to fixed destinations and thousands of

resorts developed as destination resorts. Today most Europeans take holidays to destinations

resorts and they do this more in the summer than in winter. The argument can be made that this

trend is beginning to emerge in North America as well, and that the average population is

beginning to consider summer holidays and will be looking for destinations rather traveling

vacations.

Because of climate, latitude and geography (including elevations between 500 and 1800 metersthat are ideal for resting the average human body), British Columbia is the only part of North

America ideally suited for destinations that may offer recreation in the four seasons, and

particularly in the summer. In addition, people will soon discover that mountain holidays in

temperate latitudes and moderate elevations in summer combine health improvement with

relaxation and sight seeing experiences. Unlike Colorado, where the average valley base (2500

meters) is higher than the top of Backcomb Mountain (2200 meters) at Whistler, British

Columbia has all the attributes to become the host to North Americans. The only missing

ingredients are the facilities for the average urban tourist, from resort bases to mountain access.

This is the reason for the phenomenal success of Whistler, once it became established and started

having adequate facilities, despite the original problems with its location and poor development,

and its unfavorable climate for a good part of winter. We also noted that Whistler is already a

destination of a particular kind, with an approved bed base of 52,500 beds, and a real bed base ofapproximately 80,000 beds for those who know Whistler. Whistler has also a resident population

of about 7,500 people, making it a resident village larger than Golden. It is necessary to consider

and to propose tourist destinations that will not have an urban character, but will be true tourist

nests in the mountains.

2. The Swiss historical example:

We touched on the fact that the Swiss were one of the poorest people in Europe, living near

valleys where aboriginal people of the Alps had sustained themselves hunting and fishing since

the earliest historical times. In earlier centuries the men of the people of the Alps had to go to

neighboring nations earning a living as mercenary soldiers, and until two hundred years ago

Switzerland was one of the poorest mountain farming and ranching communities in Europe.

Then the British discovered travel and the beauty of the mountains and the Swiss became hosts to

the European tourists who wanted to discover the Alps both for their beauty and for the health

qualities of vacations and rest in the mountains.

The Swiss became mountain guides and hoteliers. Tourism created the cash flow that allowed the

Swiss to create other industries. Today Switzerland, despite its lack of raw materials, has become

a leading industrial country, with preeminence in the world for companies ranging from

watchmakers to pharmaceutical products. One could easily argue that for British Columbia the

time has come to look at tourism as the industry of choice for the transition from reliance only on

primary industry to the creation of the capital necessary to start secondary and tertiary industry.


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But tourism as an industry requires sustainable facilities and infrastructure, which are not easy to

do properly and in the right locations, and a friendly population that enjoys welcoming visitors.

3. The historical opportunity for First Nations:

This is a unique time for First Nations to become the hosts to North Americans, and perhaps to

the world, on their own original land. Never before there has been such an interest in aboriginal

activities and history, and perhaps a desire by other peoples to correct the wrongs of the past.

Tourism that combines native hospitality themes and interpretive activities would have something

that would add appeal to the discovery of natural beauty, sporting activities and the health factor

of the vacation in the mountains. In addition First Nations might be at a special historical junction

in terms of public goodwill and financial opportunity, when they can seize a positive chance to

finance their entry into the tourist industry that may never come again with the same clarity and

strength.

The Tribal Council is already moving in the direction of the tourist industry with the St. Eugene

development and the Sushwaps have demonstrated their entrepreneurial capabilities with the

Kinbasket Development Corporation and the Eagle Ranch golf course and development. The

Kinbasket Development Corporation has gained development experience that would allow

cooperation extending to many facets of the project. Similarly one could extend these ideas to the

Ktunaxa Kinbasket group, who have been gaining a great deal of experience in the St. Eugenedevelopments.

These activities may be an historical beginning. They are made more difficult, however, because

the beginning had to be located where the reserve lands were, not in prime tourist destination

locations. Location is the most important ingredient for economic success, not just for the

enjoyment of the visitors. On the other hand, First Nations when they are united currently have

even more political power than they may realize, and if they use it wisely, they may find that this

is the key to obtain access the best locations. These are locations that for historical reasons had

never been considered for an opportunity to show the landscape to outsiders.

4. Jumbo Glacier is different and unique; it is a unique entry into tourism:

The Jumbo Creek valley is unique because it had a sawmill and a mine that produced an existing

road, in part already dedicated as a public highway, to the base of one of the most appropriate

mountain settings for sightseeing and skiing year round. There is no other location and access in

North America like that. Because of the location, within easy travel distance from Banff and the

National Parks routes, and because of the year round skiing and the unique viewpoints from the

top, perhaps surpassing even such scenic attractions as Lake Louise and the Victoria Glacier, the

lifts would be able to operate year round at near capacity, as they do at the Jungfrau in

Switzerland.

The top of Glacier Dome and of Jumbo Mountain would become world destinations where people

would go to have a mountain view like nowhere else (except by helicopter which is an experience

limited to very few people) in North America. It would become a must visit from the NationalParks (already people come in winter from Banff to heli-ski in the area, with buses coming every

day from Banff).

We have discussed the project many times with Dave Bjarnason of the International Union of

Operating Engineers and he agrees that the employment would be so much more stable than in

the other skiing destinations operating only in winter that it would be easy to run the project with

union labour. This would allow to train a stable work force, and would facilitate a bigger

opportunity for training programs and for aboriginal participation as part of the work force. The

future joint venture or partnership in the project could include a form of cooperation and training

involving both some of the union resources and capabilities and the First Nations.


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5. The environmental studies:

The environmental work has been thorough, has been on going since 1990 and is about complete

to respond fully to the questions defined in the Project Specifications issued by the Environmental

Assessment Office in 1998, after many years re-examining the issues.

Work is still under way to come to a final conclusion both in terms of cumulative impact reports

and of optimum access route improvements design and costing. The Project Report for the

Environmental Assessment Office in response to the Project Specifications has been in

preparation in the last years and with the concurrence of the responses from all Government

agencies should be finally completely drafted this year.

The project will soon be ready for an information campaign that will provide the answers that

responsible people have been looking for. The project will not only be sustainable and opening a

most desirable location, but it is being designed to be the best planned mountain resort on the

continent. It will also be the only one with access to a major glacier from the top of the glaciers.

6. The possible roles of First Nations:

The Jumbo Glacier Resort project concept has been primarily financed by foreign investors,

starting with the initial Japanese client, Nikken Canada Holdings Ltd. It is a project that has

accidentally generated the connections for the start of the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort project.During the final planning phases of Kicking Horse the Dutch client Company, Ballast Nedam,

asked me to find a local partner and after some research Grouse Mountain was introduced to

Ballast Nedam and became the local partner.

The thought that is currently being discussed is that the First Nations could become the local

partner for Glacier Resorts L. P., the proponent of the Jumbo Glacier Resort project. Perhaps the

First Nations do not have the experience that Grouse Mountain contributed to Kicking Horse, but

they have certainly gained experience, and what they may not be able to contribute in experience

they may bring to the project in terms of goodwill and world wide public appeal, created by

tourism with a native theme and historical interpretive connotation. The Directors of Glacier

Resorts Ltd. have excellent mountain development experience and would form a good team with

the local tourism orientated population, both native and non native, and could provide themanagement experience that is necessary in these projects.

The form of the partnership is open and may range from a participation in the whole project as

part of the Glacier Resorts Limited Partnership, the legal owner of the project, to specific joint

ventures for project components, be it lift operations or one of the initial hotels or residential

components to be brought into the project rental pool and to be substantially owned and operated

by the aboriginal joint venture partner. We are currently discussing with the Sushwaps a joint

venture development at the beginning of the project. This particular joint venture would be a

small lodge that may be the centre piece of the initial development phase.

It would establish the hospitality theme of the first hotel facility with an aboriginal feeling and

interpretive theme, and it would be a first step toward aboriginal hospitality in the mountains. Itwould do this in a subtle way that would not be in conflict with the comforts of today's tourism,

but that would remind people that they are in a region where for many centuries ancient peoples

existed. The size of the first lodge will be relatively small, perhaps fifty to eighty rooms with

capability to expand.

It will be designed to have a positive interface with the heli-ski operations by R.K. Heli-ski, and if

the First Nations were able to convince it, the lodge could be offering hospitality both to heli-

skiers and non-heli-skiers. The advantage of this project again would be its unique location that

would make it a sight seeing destination like no other in North America.


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The form of the partnership in the lodge would depend on the success of the financing program. If

we were able to obtain funding from sources such as the Business Development Bank for the First

Nation's project, or from any other Government or private source independent from our clients,

the First Nations could have majority ownership of the Lodge and use it as a first step to become

co-developers in the project. If funding had to be advanced in the majority by our clients, then the

First Nations could be operators and partners for a smaller percentage of ownership.

Finally, there are ample opportunities to work on the development of interpretive themes and

facilities that would add a welcome historical dimension to the project. This could be enhanced

by a First Nations presence as the environmental stewards of the project, maintaining a

monitoring presence in the facility originally proposed to review the long term sustainability and

environmental performance of the project.

As progress will be made in these discussions, firm agreements should be developed confirming the

opportunities and the roles of each party.

letter to chief sophie pierre ktunaxa first nation

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