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Partnering for Indigenous Community Energy Capacity

Indigenous Community Energy and Emissions Planning Resources

Visit our Indigenous community energy and emissions planning resource page for an inventory and jurisdictional scan of existing initiatives supporting community energy and emissions planning in Indigenous communities across Canada
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À propos de l’initiative

In Autumn 2021, QUEST Canada launched its Partnering for Indigenous Community Energy Capacity (PICEC) initiative, an Indigenous community-led process aimed at strengthening the understanding and knowledge of the priorities, needs, and challenges of community energy and emissions planning, from the Indigenous community context. Key initiatives include developing a community energy assessment, building community capacity by recruiting energy champions, providing energy mapping support, sharing resources and guidance for community energy and emissions planning implementation, and project evaluation. Key outcomes include completed Community Energy Assessments and the development of energy priorities and next steps for participating Indigenous communities.

“Living in harmony with the environment and protecting it as an equal has been one of the toughest challenges for humans over the centuries […] With the work we are doing here, Frog Lake’s hope is to inspire other reservations and communities to help us protect and maintain our earth for generations to come.”

Michael Marty Jr.

Community Energy Coordinator, Frog Lake First Nations

Guiding Principles:

Community-Led

Meeting communities where they are at (non-prescriptive about communities’ objectives).

Relationship-Based

Recognizing the importance of learning from one another by emphasizing in-depth community engagement and peer-to-peer learning opportunities between communities.

Knowledge Integration

Bringing together different types of knowledge and perspectives, within and between Indigenous communities, and with the broader energy and municipal community energy and emissions planning sectors.

Indigenous Leadership

Highlighting Indigenous community leadership and empowering youth to be involved in community energy today, and in the future.

CALENDRIER

PICEC is a comprehensive process designed to support Indigenous communities with their energy initiatives. The initiative consists of five stages, each designed to support communities on their pathway to net-zero.

PICEC Timeline

Stage 1: Community Energy Assessment and Onboarding

The first stage of the initiative focuses on assessing the current energy situation and determining the energy goals and aspirations for each participating community.

Stage 2: Community Energy Champion Recruitment and Capacity Building

The second stage of the initiative supports communities with the recruitment and training of local energy champions to drive energy initiatives forward.

Stage 3: Community Energy and Emissions Planning Support

The third stage provides support to communities with the development of comprehensive community energy and emissions plans that align with their goals and objectives.

Stage 4: Community Energy Implementation Support

The fourth stage provides communities with the supports and resources necessary to implement their community energy and emissions plans.

Stage 5: Evaluation and Wrap-Up

The final stage of the initiative includes evaluating the success of participating communities’ energy initiatives.

Participating Communities

Frog Lake First Nations

Glooscap First Nation

St. Mary's First Nation

Supporters

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If you are an Indigenous community interested in reaching your net-zero goals, PICEC can help. For more information about the initiative, please contact Omar Farag, Senior Lead of Projects, at [email protected] or 866-494-2770 ext. 717.

Empowering Canadian Communities

QUEST Canada develops and implements projects with the aim to nurture strategic partnerships, facilitate connections, empower community champions, and influence decisions makers, supporting communities across Canada on their pathway to net-zero. Find out more about our projects:

Accelerating Implementation of Renewable Energy for Indigenous Communities

Accelerating Implementation of Renewable Energy for Indigenous Communities

Accelerating Implementation of Renewable Energy (AIRE) for Indigenous Communities is a three-year project designed to help rural and remote Indigenous communities reach emission reduction targets by increasing their capacity to plan and implement land-based renewable energy initiatives (solar, wind, biomass, and geo-thermal). This project supports rural, remote Indigenous communities on their pathway to net-zero.

Equitable Engagement

Equitable Engagement

The Equitable Engagement project works to incorporate Indigenous knowledge as well as equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) considerations into QUEST Canada’s capacity building-based initiatives. The aim of this project is to ensure current and future participating communities are equipped with the tools, resources, and knowledge required to engage all stakeholders on the pathway to a durable and just net-zero future.